Ambulance service volunteers help to vaccinate 500 patients with Covid jab at Northampton General Hospital

An army of Community First Responders (CFR) from the East Midlands have become some of the first vaccinators from across the UK in the fight against Covid-19.

In just a few short days, the volunteers from across Northamptonshire have vaccinated over 500 people, helping medics at Northampton General Hospital with the roll out of the Pfizer vaccine.

It comes as history was made on Tuesday (December 8) as Northampton's hospital became one of the first UK hubs to start giving out the vaccine to the over-80s who already have an in-patient appointment booked, as well as care home workers and healthcare workers who are at highest risk of serious illness from Covid-19.

When not busy vaccinating, the volunteers have also been carrying out important roles such as marshalling patients, providing first aid, carrying out the initial Covid questioning and patient observations.

Conor McClelland, training officer at East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "I am incredibly proud of our Northamptonshire CFRs for rising to the challenge of supporting the vaccine rollout with such short notice.

"Within a matter of days, the team at Northampton General Hospital and I had trained nearly 30 responders to administer the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. In some cases, it took just one day to go from training to vaccinating.

"I want to thank all of the responders for the early starts, late finishes and commitment they have shown to training and making themselves available to help and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the staff at Northampton General Hospital, by vaccinating patients, care and hospital staff. They should all be very proud of themselves.

"Thank you also to the responders who are still booking on duty to be out in their communities caring for their patients to support EMAS during these challenging times."

Across the East Midlands, more than 400 Community First Responders have stepped up to offer their help when the vaccine rolls out within their county, all ready to become a part of history as the country’s Covid vaccination programme steps up a gear.