Enniskillen Grandmother Makes History

With the SpeedyReg offices being just up the road from Enniskillen, it’s a town we know very well and so it’s always interesting when the town makes the news headlines, and it’s so lovely to see our beautiful local town in the news for something so positive! Originally from Enniskillen, Margaret Keenan, a 90 year old grandmother, has become the first person in the world to receive the Covid-19 vaccine other than those participating in trials. Now living in Coventry, where she moved over 60 years ago Margaret has certainly made history and hopefully this is the beginning of the end for this dreadful virus that has caused so much heartbreak and disruption to all our lives.

A very Happy Birthday to Margaret

Margaret is due to celebrate her 91^st birthday this week, and of course with Christmas on the horizon, we hope the vaccine will give her some reassurance that while this year may be a quiet affair, she will be able to celebrate future festivities in style with her loved ones. Margaret herself called it “the best early birthday present”. Margaret has spent much of the year alone, and has said that she is very much looking forward to spending time with family and friends in the new year. When Margaret received her jab, the entire room broke out into a round of applause. Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England was there to witness the historic moment and said  “We couldn’t hug her but we could clap, and everybody did so in the room.”

Margaret’s message to the world

Margaret also made an important statement that she hopes people will take heed of, saying “My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it. If I can have it at 90, then you can have it too”

A happier future could be around the corner

Dubbed V-Day this is the start of a massive roll out of the vaccine, and while we can’t expect miracles overnight, the process is going to take some time, I think we can at least give a little sigh of relief that an end is finally in sight. A little positivity after so many dark months truly is wonderful and it gives us hope that even though this Christmas will be quite different for most of us, next Christmas could well see us all back to having Christmas parties and spending time with all our friends and families we’ve been missing so much this year.

Margaret’s vaccination was the first dose of 800,000 of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine that will be given to the over 80s and healthcare professionals over the next few weeks. By the end of the month it is thought that there should be around 4 million doses of the vaccine available, allowing a huge vaccination programme to be led from hubs all over the UK. It’s wonderful to think that right now, thousands of people are currently receiving their Covid-19 vaccine.

Two doses for effective immunity

Of course this is just the first of two doses of this particular vaccine in order for it to be fully effective. If we call the day of the first jab Day 1, then by Day 12, immunity to the virus begins to build, and on Day 21 a second dose is administered. Only by Day 28 will the person have full immunity from the virus.

The first vaccination in Northern Ireland

Another lady who will also go down in history is Sister Joanna Sloan, a 28 year old nurse from Dundrum, Co. Down who was the first person in Northern Ireland to get the vaccine at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. She was at the head of the queue of around 1000 healthcare professionals due to receive the vaccine this week, keeping them safe to carry on with the amazing work they do. Sister Joanna Sloan is now heading up the roll out of the vaccine in Belfast.

Celebrate the importance of the vaccine with a new private plate

With a huge roll out of the Coronavirus vaccines, hopefully before long, all those people who are elderly and vulnerable will have received their jab, along will all those working in front line roles, and eventually the rest of the world. If you want to celebrate having the vaccine and potentially saving your life and those of others, or you just want to show the world that you’re pro vaccine, we’ve got some private plates that just might suit you. How about a JAB plate such as 753 JAB or JAB 11A? Did it sting a bit? Did you say “Ow!” then you could go for JAB 10W. Or maybe you’d prefer a VAX plate. We’ve got some amazing prices on VAX plates. You could pick up V3 VAX or V7 VAX for just £394 or the rather fabulous VAX 555S for just £599! Alternatively, we’ve got VAC 555H, V24 VAC, VA55 VAC and many more VAC plates if you like the looks of those better.

Keep up the good work everybody

As the process of rolling out the vaccines continues, there’s a lot of people to get round, and a 28 day period within which the person is not fully immune, so it’s therefore vital that we all keep up with what has now become the norm, with social distancing and the wearing of masks. So we can have a safe but happy Christmas, with hopefully a much happier 2012 just over the horizon!