Covid vaccination of care home residents has kicked off in Scotland with the first jabs administered at Abercorn House in Hamilton in Lanarkshire.
Annie Innes (pictured), a 90 year-old former carer and resident of Abercorn House for the past six months, was the first resident to receive the Pfizer vaccination in the country.
Staff from NHS Lanarkshire administered vaccines to 52 residents at the Sanctuary Care home as the roll-out of the vaccination programme continued.
Second to receive her first dose at the care home was 82 year-old Margaret Keating, who has been a resident at Abercorn House for just over a year.
“It has been a challenge to get the Pfizer vaccine into care homes because of transport and storage requirements but I am delighted to see Mrs. Innes become the first care home resident to receive her vaccine and I wish her many more years of good health,” said Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman.
“Those receiving their vaccines this week will get their second doses early in the New Year. Following advice from the MHRA we are keeping 50 per cent of the stock we have back to allow this to happen,” she added.
Health & Social Care North Lanarkshire nurse director Trudi Marshall, who is managing the care home vaccination programme across Lanarkshire, said: “This programme represents the biggest logistical challenges Lanarkshire, and the country, has ever faced.
“We’ve very rapidly scaled up our vaccinator nursing workforce and carried out detailed planning, which will enable us to vaccinate 2,990 care home residents and 5,601 staff across 93 care homes.”
