Lincolnshire residents overwhelmingly in support of Covid-19 vaccine, research shows as Sleaford care home prepares for first wave of jabs

A survey of 2,000 UK adults revealed only 17 per cent would refuse to take it, with 19 per cent stating they were still unsure.

The figure was, however, slightly higher in the East Midlands, with 18 per cent saying they would refuse and 19 per cent unsure about taking the vaccine when it becomes available.

An 84-year-old retired NHS worker was the first person in Lincolnshire to get the new COVID-19 vaccine.

Janet Judson from Lincoln received the coronavirus jab on Tuesday morning at Lincoln County Hospital.

She said: “I’m so grateful to have been asked to have it. It’ll make a real difference actually. It will give me a chance for a few more years hopefully.”

Lead nurse Leanne Belton said it was an “absolute honour” to give Mrs Judson the vaccine.

ULHT is one of the first 50 hubs across England to begin the mass vaccination programme after it was approved by regulators last week.

The UK is the first country to offer the Pfizer jab.

Health and care workers and the most clinically vulnerable and elderly are expected to be among the first in line to get the jabs as the Uk steadily rolls out the vaccine over the coming weeks and months.

Ashdene care home in Sleaford looks after some of the most vulnerable older residents in the area, particularly catering for those with dementia.

Manager Jilly Hunt said they are still waiting for further news on when they will be getting vaccinated.

She said: “Myself and my husband Michael are both on the front line and are both going to have it as soon as it’s available.

“Quite a few staff want to have it and some are understandably nervous about it. Some of the staff have said that it’s all happened too quickly, but I’ve explained that all the world’s best scientists have been working on it non-stop and money has been thrown at them and that it’s normally financial why it takes so long to get everything to production.”

She added: “It is totally down to the individual whether or not they decide to have the vaccine and I support them either way.

“Having spoken to my residents that are able to give consent they all want to grab it with both hands. For our other residents that aren’t able to consent, I have spoken to their relatives or a best interest decision has been made involving the GP and social workers and the team here and we have decided it’s in their best interest to be vaccinated.”

The home is also taking part in an urgent public health study called Vivaldi where all the staff and residents will have their bloods taken so that they can see if anyone has got immunity already or has had the virus and not known (before testing came in).

“They will continue to test us over the following year to see how immunity holds,” said Mrs Hunt. “I feel it’s very important to volunteer for projects like this as it helps all the general public and after all we’ve all got to do our bit to help.”

Commenting on the arrival of the vaccine she said: “It finally feels like there’s a light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel and there’s a hope that we can get back to some sort of normal. I think 2020 will go down in history as a terrible year, but we need to find some positives and I have found that the team at Ashdene has become even stronger as a result of everything we have all had to cope with. We’ve all made sacrifices to keep our lovely residents and team safe.

“Once again I want to shout it from the rooftops about how proud I am as a manager of our amazing team - the Ashdene Angels. Also we have April to look forward to as we will be going to the finals for The Great British Care awards for our area as we are shortlisted for four awards and had our interviews last week.””

She said they have been well supported by relatives of their residents, who want to do everything they can to keep everyone safe. “They have said that they don’t want to come in to the home until it’s safe for everyone,” said Jilly. “We are going to have such a celebration when we can throw our doors open to everyone again and now it’s going to be not too far away thanks to all the hard work of everyone involved in getting the vaccine into production. We have been well supported by Lincolnshire Care Association who cascade information out to us as soon as they get it, they have been so supportive over the last year and it would have been far more difficult without their support.”

Lincolnshire Care Association is celebrating the arrival of the life-saving vaccine, which chairman Melanie Weatherley is describing as the “beginning of the end” for the pandemic.

However, the organisation is urging the sector to remember that the battle isn’t over just yet, and that care providers and their staff need to keep up with the amazing work they have been doing to ensure those they care for are safe.

Melanie explained: “The vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel, and we are delighted that some of Lincolnshire’s care home staff will be receiving their vaccination today. But for now, the virus is still a threat.

“Whether in a care home or out in the community, the best way to keep your service users safe is to wear PPE, social distance and keep washing your hands.”

The speed at which the vaccinations have been developed have resulted in 73 per cent of East Midlands residents regarding its fight against Covid-19 as one of science’s greatest achievements.

The survey, by Medicspot, also looked at how people in the East Midlands who did not want the vaccine could be incentivised to take it.

A fifth (21 per cent) said they would be vaccinated if they were paid, while 22 per cent would take it if it meant they could go to the pub.

A third would take it if it meant they could go on holiday abroad, while almost a quarter would take it if it meant they could go to sporting, music or other events.

Dr Johnson D’souza, Medical Director at Medicspot, said: “In the space of one month we’ve had three vaccines announced, which has been an incredible achievement from everyone involved in the fight against Covid-19.

“It is comforting to know the vast majority of the public, including East Midlands residents, are supportive of the vaccine.”

The research comes as Margaret Keenan, age 90, becomes the first patient to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine after its approval in the UK.

The survey, carried out by OnePoll for Medicspot, found 38 per cent in the East Midlands think the vaccine should be mandatory for everyone in the UK, while just over a third (35 per cent) disagree entirely.

However 57 per cent in the region think the vaccine should be mandatory for people who are deemed at a greater risk of the virus.

The research was carried out as Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced the latest Tier system as well as plans to allow ‘Five Days of Christmas’ where families from up to three households can mix over the festive season.

Nineteen per cent of East Midlands respondents say they have broken the lockdown rules that were announced at the start of November.

Only 46 per cent said they were likely to stick to the new tier rules.

Medicspot has developed fast Covid-19 tests with next-day results designed for businesses testing staff and for individuals who need a ‘fit to fly’ certificate or have returned from abroad.

When the vaccine becomes available, nearly three quarters of East Midlands residents think people arriving in the UK on holiday or for business should have a certificate confirming they have been vaccinated

And a similar figure thinks UK residents leaving the country should have a certificate saying they’ve been vaccinated.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust Chief Executive Andrew Morgan said on Tuesday: “This is a really important day for the NHS. It is the start of the biggest roll-out of a vaccination programme that this country has ever seen and I think it is a turning point in our collective fight against the pandemic.

“We are absolutely delighted that our first patients, our first care home staff and our first members of the NHS family are being vaccinated today.

“This is clearly a marathon and not a sprint, but we do have to start somewhere and I am delighted that United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the first sites to begin the vaccination programme in the country.”

Some 800,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to be dispensed nationwide in the coming days with up to four million more expected to arrive in stock by the end of the month.

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said he was “thrilled” about the news but warned the UK population should stick with the rules for some time yet.

Assistant director for public health at Lincolnshire County Council Tony McGinty said: “Assuming the vaccines are as effective in big populations as they have been in testing, then this is the beginning of the end for coronavirus being able to cause the havoc that it’s caused for most of this year.”

He said the news was “testament” to the work scientists had been able to do building on the basic science.

“The speed with which our NHS colleagues have managed to get this from approval to actually being available to go into the arms of local people will go down in history probably as one of the fastest mass public health mobilisations this country has ever seen.”

He said he understood some people were worried, but moved to reassure them that none of the steps around safety, trialling and licensing had been skipped.

“The science that this vaccine is based on is not brand new and has not been rushed out, the science has been around for a long time,” he added.

He said: “I’m confident that the vaccine is safe, and if I were eligible for this first round of vaccine I would be getting that vaccine today.”