Coronavirus vaccine: Nurse Joanna Sloan receives first NI jab

The first Covid-19 vaccination in Northern Ireland has been administered.

Sister Joanna Sloan - who will head up the vaccine roll out in Belfast - received the jab just after 08:00 GMT at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Meanwhile, a 90-year-old woman from NI became the first person in the world to receive the vaccine outside trial conditions.

Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, said it was the "best early birthday present".

Ms Sloan, the first person to receive the vaccine in NI, is going to manage the Belfast Trust vaccination centre.

"I've been waiting, looking forward to it for so long and it feels great, it feels fantastic, privileged," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"This feels like the last hurdle towards keeping people safe, myself and everyone around me."

The nurse from Dundrum, County Down, had to put her wedding on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She said she had yet to tell her five-year-old daughter that she had been the first person in Northern Ireland to receive the vaccine.

"I'll get to explain it all to her later," she said.

"I want her to be proud, I want all my family and friends to be proud."

Health Minister Robin Swann said the vaccinations were "a game changer".

"With Joanna Sloan receiving that first Covid vaccine in Northern Ireland and with a lady from Enniskillen receiving the first vaccine in England as well, the people of Northern Ireland are really stepping forward today to receive this vaccine," Robin Swann told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

He said that those in care homes would start to receive the vaccine soon.

While the room where the inoculation happened was unimpressive, the message it sent was powerful.

The snapshot of Sister Joanna Sloan receiving her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine said "hope"; Ms Sloan said she felt emotional and proud.

Those of us watching could not fail to be affected; like the nurse, we too drew breath, flinched and sighed when it was over.

While the vaccine offers the world a way out of the pandemic, many are concerned about the speed with which it's been developed - from the science labs of Belgium to Belfast it has taken less than a year.

Regulators responsible for keeping us safe say it has passed all independent checks, but there are still long-term unknowns.

The Royal Victoria Hospital inoculation should be a transformative moment both for Ms Sloan and the many who will follow in her footsteps.

There may be many more difficult days ahead, but the vaccine roll out is a tangible sign people are starting to look forward.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle Dr Alan Stout, chair of Northern Ireland's GP committee, said this "is a landmark day".

But he warned that it was important to "emphasise that we are not out of this".

"It is so important that people still follow the rules and follow the guidance."

More than 600 volunteer vaccinators will be given the injection this week, ahead of the biggest inoculation programme in UK history.

The UK will be the first country in the world to start using the Pfizer vaccine after regulators approved its use last week. About 25,000 doses were delivered to NI last Friday.

Vaccination will not be compulsory. Ministers have warned it could be Easter by the time restrictions are lifted in a significant way.

Ms Sloan, 28, a mother of one, said she felt emotional and proud to be part of history.

She has been a nurse for six years and is due to get married in April.

NI Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride was also at the hospital site in west Belfast to witness Northern Ireland's first vaccination.

The vaccine will be rolled out at seven sites across Northern Ireland including the Ulster Hospital's new Emergency Department, the Seven Towers Leisure Centre in Ballymena, Antrim Forum leisure centre and the Foyle Arena in Londonderry.

The people whose job it is to deliver the vaccine are top of the priority queue.

Residents in care homes for older adults and their staff are next in line and this will happen before Christmas.

Then, it will be the turn of everyone who is aged 80 and over and mobile, as well as front-line health and social care workers.

Those aged 70 and over and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable are next.

Each person will receive two doses, three weeks apart.

A person will only become fully protected four weeks after the initial dose.

That means vaccinators will have received just one jab when they start vaccinating.

Stocks of coronavirus vaccine were transported to Northern Ireland via the Republic of Ireland, having arrived into Dublin port from Holyhead.

They are being kept at a central storage facility operated by a private company. The location is not being disclosed.

The vaccine must be stored at about -70C and will be transported in special boxes, packed in dry ice.

Once delivered, it can be kept for up to five days in a fridge.

Northern Ireland's Health Minister Robin Swann has warned that distribution of the vaccine will be a "massive logistical challenge" particularly when it comes to rolling it out into care homes, which will require 12,000 doses.

On Monday, the Department of Health recorded nine further Covid-19 deaths taking the total death toll to 1,059.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe.

It is thought Northern Ireland will receive about 1.5 million doses in total.