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Hundreds of people in the UK have become the first in the world to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine approved outside of a trial.
Sky News visited Croydon University Hospital (CUH) in South London, among the first to administer the vaccine to patients, to experience how the process works.
How are people chosen to receive the vaccine?
For now, those who receive the jab are 80 and older and were chosen by the hospital in several different ways in the two days leading up to launch.
Some are hospital volunteers or regular patients at the hospital, a few enrolled in their local church, and some were outpatients at the hospital who were asked if they wanted to have it right there.
Colin Campbell is a regular outpatient at Croydon University Hospital
Colin Campbell, 80, is a regular outpatient and was called the day before to ask if he wanted the vaccine.
“I said yes right away,” he told Sky News.
“It is common sense, it has been such a terrible disease, such a scourge and if they have found a cure for it, which we hope it will be, then I think it is common sense to have it.”
June Tamberlin, 81, signed up for her church on Sunday and was surprised to receive the call the next day.
“I feel very privileged that they asked me,” she said.
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How is the vaccine prepared?
Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine should be stored at -70 ° C (-100 ° F) and then thawed overnight in a special vaccine refrigerator where it can survive for five days.
Vaccine doses are stored in this refrigerator before mixing and administration.
Each package has 975 doses, so 195 people must be vaccinated on each of those five days.
At CUH there were different teams for each part of the process, one would take the vaccine vials out of the refrigerator and then mix them in a separate room with a liquid to prepare them for administration.
What happens when a patient arrives at the vaccination center?
Each CUH patient was given a form to fill out on their health and demographics, and a nurse reviewed the risks and made sure they understood everything.
They were then taken to one of eight booths, separated by screens, where they would sit and a nurse would administer the injection.
After the puncture, the patients were told to sit for a couple of minutes, or 15 if they were driving, before they could leave.
Vaccination centers have been established throughout the country.
Some patients said they didn’t even feel the needle go in, and CUH reported no adverse effects in the patients they saw on Tuesday morning.
They were given a sticker and a credit card-sized card that said they had received the vaccine and gave them the date of their second dose within three weeks.
How were the experiences of the patients?
All the patients Sky News spoke to said they were impressed by the guidance and information they received and felt safe.
Ms. Tamberlin said she found the experience “absolutely fantastic”.
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“Everyone has been very positive and helped us understand what is happening,” he added.
Campbell said: “He has been incredibly efficient, the people are very courteous, I think it is indicative that everyone is fighting this together.”
“There seems to be a tremendous bond in the whole operation.”
Why did people want to get vaccinated on the first day?
All of the early recipients were 80 or older, so they are classified as vulnerable, and most have been protecting for months.
Maria York has volunteered as a chaplaincy at Croydon University Hospital for over 20 years, but had to protect
Maria York, 86, has been a volunteer in the hospital chaplaincy for more than 20 years, but has not been able to visit the wards since March.
“I am in the vulnerable group on many levels, my age, my ethnicity and I have asthma,” he said.
“I want to be able to see my grandchildren, I have seen some in the garden in summer and on FaceTime, but it is not the same.
“I would like to be able to visit the rooms again as well, so I appreciate it, I feel honored, I feel blessed to be one of the first to receive the vaccine.”
Ms. Tamberlin lives alone and said she missed her friends and family.
“I really want to go out to eat with my family, it has been so long,” he said.
Will people who have received the vaccine still have to be careful?
Yes. It is not yet known whether the vaccine will prevent transmission of the virus and people should also receive two doses 21 days apart.
Those who received the vaccine at CUH said they would remain sensitive.
“I’m not going out to party,” York said.
“We have been told to continue to be prudent and careful and I will, especially since other people will not have been vaccinated.”
How have the nurses been?
The stars of the show on the first day of the vaccine launch were the nurses.
Nurses have been the stars of the show
Phinah Agbakoba is usually a nurse in the maternity ward and immediately gave her name to administer the vaccine the first day after the flu shot this year.
“For so long we waited for a vaccine to come,” he said.
“Obviously, working in a hospital you see a lot of people dying, so you just want something to help you.
“Today, I think it is such a memorable day, such an exciting day, so wonderful to be a part of it.
“Being able to give it and talk to the people who received it has been great.
“I didn’t think our hospital would be chosen as one of the first, but with the demographics here, the age groups, it makes sense.”
