London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

'I feel privileged': the people helping to give vaccine jabs in the UK

'I feel privileged': the people helping to give vaccine jabs in the UK

With 17 million people now vaccinated, three volunteers speak about their part in the programme

Helping to vaccinate people against coronavirus doesn’t feel like work, says Camille Edmonds, a senior nurse manager in Hull. “There’s a productive buzz in the air,” she says. “The usual stresses and anxieties aren’t there.”

Edmonds, 49, a nurse for 28 years, works for Hull university teaching hospitals NHS trust, which she feels has been “really organised” in deploying the vaccine. She started inoculating people at the beginning of January.

Ten bays are used with 10 nurses each working five-hour shifts. “It’s a brilliant system,” she says. “There are so many people volunteering, from reception staff to those working in IT. Some even came out of retirement to help. By the second week, we received an email saying they had enough volunteers and that there was now a waiting list.

Camille Edmonds.


“Regardless of what our clinical backgrounds and pay bands are, we’re all fighting the same fight. I feel like we’re contributing to something bigger and doing it together. I feel privileged to be involved.”

At the start of January, Edmonds says, many of the people who were being vaccinated were those living in care homes.

“It was lovely to see them,” she says. “Many of them hadn’t left their homes for a year and they just wanted to chat. It reminded me of why I became a nurse – to help people and make a palpable difference.”

She adds: “It feels amazing and, more importantly, it feels hopeful.”

Among the volunteers in the national programme are medical students such as Ollie Kirby, 31, from Exeter.

“It’s great to be able to pitch in,” he says. “Logistically, it was difficult to mobilise some medical students at the start of the pandemic. The organisation of such things was a huge task, so there weren’t always clear pathways for us to help local services. It was frustrating because we wanted to help.”

Kirby works at a large vaccination centre at Parks leisure centre in North Shields. The centre delivers about 1,500 vaccines a day, and Kirby himself will vaccinate 15 to 20 people an hour over a shift.

“It’s really noticeable how much younger the patients have been getting over the last six weeks, which shows the rollout’s going really well in the north-east.”

Kirby says he has had some “interesting” conversations with patients about their vaccine preferences.

“The centre delivers both the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca vaccines. Which one we give depends entirely on which one we’re sent, and we often don’t know until the day which one it’ll be.”

Sometimes patients pose a question about the interval between the two vaccine doses. “They will ask: if I have vaccine A, will I get that as my second dose, or will I get vaccine B? And my answer has to be based on what the plan is.

“There’s currently no plan to mix and match vaccines, but there are trials going on to see if you can. So it’s difficult to give patients a straight answer when things change so fast.”

Hazel Haywood.


Many volunteers are not healthcare professionals, such as Hazel Haywood, a 64-year-old retiree who lives in a village outside Stratford-upon-Avon. “The GP surgery is oversubscribed with volunteers,” she says. “It’s quite hard to get a shift these days as so many people want to help out.”

Haywood volunteers once a week at her local GP surgery, working a four-and-a-half-hour morning or afternoon shift. “There are a whole range of jobs,” she says. “I greet people, usher them to where they need to be, chat to them and check they’re OK, and sanitise an area after every person. It’s non-stop like a conveyor belt.

“At the beginning we were only seeing older people and it was quite an eye-opener. Many were often dropped off with no one to accompany them. That’s where I came in. They were so lovely and grateful, and often didn’t feel they deserved the vaccine.”

When applying for shifts, she checks the app that is used to organise volunteers and sometimes finds six to eight people applying for each one.

“We have a team of vaccinators who come in, but it’s nice to see some of the doctors and nurses giving up their half days to help out. Our surgery is doing the most amazing job,” she says.

“Part of the reason for volunteering also comes out of a sense of frustration and being stuck in lockdown. If I can help bring the end of the pandemic forward, even just a tiny bit, it’s all worth it.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×