More than 200 residents and staff have been vaccinated against Covid at this Leeds care home

Nearly 150 elderly residents and 65 staff members received the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine over a period of three days at Aspen Hill Village care home in Hunslet.

Charles Cawkwell, 76, was one of the first residents at the home to receive the jab.

He said: “I was really happy to have the vaccine. Everybody should have the vaccine so we can all live as one again.

"To be able to go out and meet people doesn’t seem so far away now.”

Another resident, Paddy Haugh, 72, added: “I miss seeing my friends and family, I saw them nearly every day before Covid.

"It’s been tough for residents and staff during this pandemic, but this vaccine gives me hope.”

Staff from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust oversaw the vaccinations.

Residents at Aspen Hill, one of the UK’s largest care homes, with 180 beds and offering residential and nursing care, have been without regular contact with their loves ones for 10 months due to the pandemic

The care team have been able to arrange more than 600 visits in either visiting pods or in controlled areas to help loved ones keep in touch with residents, including using rapid Covid-19 tests to allow families to hug residents on Christmas Day.

But visits have once again but put on hold due to the national lockdown.

Staff at the home said vaccinations were “light at the end of a long tunnel” and a sign of hope for things to come.

Laura Carter, activity coordinator at Aspen Hill said: “It’s a massive relief to receive the vaccine today, and to see all our wonderful residents get theirs too.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve known that a vaccine is our way out of the pandemic, and I’m so thankful that the scientists were able to create a safe one so quickly.

"It’s a massive effort from the NHS and vaccinators to distribute them so quickly and I can’t thank them enough.

“It means our residents will be kept safe from severe disease, which is such a weight off all the team’s shoulders.

"It’s starting to feel like things are looking up for care homes, and between the vaccines and the rapid tests, hopefully there will be some more normality for our residents soon.

"That’s the most important thing really, making sure that our residents can see their loved ones regularly again”.