Covid vaccine roll out: Medical expert says 'there is light at the end of the tunnel'

8 December 2020, 12:08 | Updated: 8 December 2020, 12:09

This is the moment a medical expert told LBC there is "light at the end of the tunnel" now that the Covid vaccine is being rolled out.

The NHS has become the first health service in the world to begin rolling out Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, with a 90-year-old grandmother becoming the first patient to receive it.

Grandmother Margaret Keenan, 90, received the jab at 6.31am in Coventry on Tuesday, marking the start of an historic mass vaccination programme.

Professor Stephen Powis, who is a National Medical Doctor, told LBC's Nick Ferrari: "It was a truly emotional moment not just for me, but I think for all the staff who were there at that vaccination centre.

"It really felt like a historic moment, a turning point in this pandemic.

"Clearly we've got a tough winter ahead. It's important that we stick to the social distancing measures that are in place.

"But there is light at the end of the tunnel and this really felt like the beginning of the end."

The phased vaccination programme will see patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, among the first to receive the life-saving jab.

Care home providers are also being asked by the Department of Health and Social Care to begin booking staff in to vaccination clinics. GPs are also expected to be able to begin vaccinating care home residents.

Any appointments not used for these groups will be used for healthcare workers who are at highest risk of serious illness from Covid-19.