Sisters Alex and Georgia from Newton Aycliffe are both 1st year pharmacy students. One at Newcastle and the other at Sunderland. But the local rivalry ends for the summer as they have joined forces at the local Knights Pharmacy vaccination clinic in Bishop Auckland.
After responding to an advert for clinic marshals, the clinic team quickly realised their potential as vaccinators given their chosen career.
Pete Horrocks, Superintendent, said, I offered to put them both through full vaccine training, it’s great to give opportunities like this to pharmacy students as it will be a great step up the ladder of pharmacy experience and something that will hopefully have a positive impact on the rest of their career. We also have a medic student working with us, so it’s refreshing to see the next generation of healthcare professionals take such an important and early role.”
When asked why she wanted to be involved Georgia said “I felt it was a perfect opportunity to get involved in the fight against COVID and utilise my time in order to help with the road to recovery for the UK. Having just completed my 1st year at uni in pharmaceuticals, I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to make a small contribution to the collaborative effort to overcome the pandemic.”
Alex said “When I started my pharmacy degree a year ago I would never have imagined I’d be vaccinating patients at this stage. It is such a wonderful experience getting involved in direct patient care especially knowing the impact the vaccine service has.”
Dr Adam Todd, Newcastle University, said “delighted to see our students putting their clinical skills to good use and working with our local partners to help the fight against Covid-19.”
Knights Pharmacy currently operates five vaccine clinics across the country and would welcome contact from any pharmacy students wishing to get involved over their summer vacation.
All adults can now book their COVID vaccination online or use the service to reschedule their existing second dose to an earlier date. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination