'Remember NHS is committed to providing best care' - Leeds nurse on Covid vaccination doubts

Grace Stewart-Hanson, named Nurse Safeguarding Adults at Leeds Community Healthcare Trust, stressed that the health service is committed to providing the best care possible as she shared her own experience of getting vaccinated.

"Getting the vaccination was easy," she said. "The process was very well organised and I was provided with thorough and clear information at each stage.

"I have since attended my second vaccination and the only side effect I have experienced was an aching arm for 24 hours on both occasions. It was no different to my flu jab.

"My advice to others who have any doubts would be to ignore any negative comments and remember that our NHS is committed to improving our lives by providing the best care. Having the vaccination would be helping them do just that."

Ms Stewart-Hanson was among those across the country who were asked to shield during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic last year, meaning she did not go beyond her house or garden from March until mid-August.

"When I heard a vaccine had been approved for use in the UK I initially felt sceptical, but this was quickly replaced by a feeling of excitement when I read more," she said.

"My early concerns were as a result of wanting to know how a vaccine had been created in (what I considered to be) such a short time scale. But I did some research and read that they were able to speed up the process by doing a number of things at the same time rather than complete each stage one after the other, such as the different phases of the clinical trial and reviewing the data as it was being collected rather than once the trials were closed.

"They were also able to recruit volunteers from all over the world for the clinical trials very quickly."

Also in news: Biggest Covid-19 vaccination worry is misinformation, says Leeds health chief

More easy-to-access information on the vaccine programme and its progress is among the requests being made through our A Shot In The Arm campaign.

Led by the Yorkshire Evening Post and sister titles across JPIMedia, it also asks for further reassurance for local communities and urges Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deploy the country’s network of 11,000 pharmacies to ensure that every citizen is only a short walk away from a vaccination centre.

In carrying out her own research, Ms Stewart-Hanson said she learned that the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs now in use in the UK had been found to be effective through trials involving volunteers from a range of age groups and ethnic backgrounds, as well as people who are immune-compromised and those with underlying health conditions.

"Once I had more information and reflected on the fact that we have a National Health Service that puts the health needs of the population first, I realised that these fears were a result of scaremongering stories as opposed to scientific fact," she said. "That aside, I have ensured both of my children were fully vaccinated growing up and I have the flu jab every year without a second thought."

Receiving a date for her first vaccine proved to be an emotional moment, she said, adding: "I knew this was the first step for me, others and the country as a whole to regain some normality in the future."

Visit nhs.uk/CovidVaccine to read more about the vaccination programme.

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