First Vaccination Takes Place in Ealing Borough
88-year-old Ruy Silva 'feeling great' after receiving jab
Ruy Silva receives his vaccine from Julie Belton
December 20, 2020
Coronavirus vaccinations have begun in Ealing this Friday (18 December) with 88-year-ol Ruy Silva, the very first to receive one administered by nurse Julie Belton.
People over the age of 80 and those on the government’s priority list will now be directly contacted with the details of how they can receive the vaccine. The phased vaccine supply means the bulk of vaccinations for high risk groups will take place between January and April.
Silvana Neves, Ruy’s next of kin, said, “He feels great. He’s so happy about that. He’s got a little bit of Alzheimer’s, but he understands what is going on.
“It means for us that we are feeling a bit safer. We were worried because he has got so many limitations. And we are trying to make it better for him. After that [the vaccine] we feel more confidence.
“This year was difficult because we were locked in the house, my father-in-law, my father, my husband and I. We are always at the home to avoid any contact with family members so they don’t get any problems.
“Next year we might be able to stay together again, to enjoy things with our family – his great grandson, his great granddaughter – because he is missing them.”
Vaccinations across West London have already begun, with The Hive in Harrow being the first site to go live, where 350 residents received the jab.
According to the North West London collaboration of clinical commissioning groups, a further four primary care network community sites are distributing the vaccine in the district.
These are Park Royal Medical Centre and Wembley Centre for Health in Brent, Richford Gate Medical Centre in Hammersmith & Fulham and Heart of Hounslow Medical Centre, in Hounslow.
Residents at the top of the government’s priority list will be contacted by their GP, these include people over 80, care home workers and healthcare workers at high risk.
NHS chiefs expect to have more than 20 sites in total across the North West London region, and plan to set up large vaccination centres in January.
In a full council meeting on December 15, Cllr Rai also told members: “A further three to four sites in Ealing will be opening in a later phase of the rollout, and each site will be able to initially vaccinate almost 1,000 residents who will then require a second dose 21 days later.
“In the first phase, the NHS will primarily be inviting residents who are over 80 and living in their own homes.
“We are waiting for confirmation from government about when care home staff and residents may be able to receive vaccinations and I’m pleased to say the council is ready to support this as soon as the announcement is made.”
She added: “It’s been a very difficult year for so many of us and I hope this is the beginning of a return to some sort of normality. However, we cannot afford to become complacent now and following the rules is more important than ever.”
Written with contributions from Anahita Hossein-Pour - Local Democracy Reporter