Recently, I spoke to a person of high risk who has been shielding for almost the last twelve months, since the pandemic first hit the United Kingdom. During our conversation we discussed their experience receiveing the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. 

This individual was eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccination due to her underlying health condition called Bronchiectasis. This involves the lungs and as the virus targets the respiratory system, that made her eligible to be in one of the first groups to receive the vaccine. 

It was in early January when the high risk individual found out that she would be given an appointment to receive the vaccine at some point in February. 

"First of all, at the beginning of the year I received a letter containing a lot of important advice for the 'clinically extremely vulnerable'. This letter informed me that I would be having my first vaccine by the middle of February."

Thanks to her local general practitioner, she was told the exact date that she would be receiving the vaccine and at the time felt "relieved and weirdly excited".

Upon arriving to her local health centre, she was greeted by a large number of staff to where she would be recieving the vaccine, as many others were recieving it also. The individual was then directed into a cubicle which she described as being "similar to a voting booth."

"Someone came and asked me a few questions for a pre-vaccine check and then a doctor came and administrated the vaccine. I felt completely calm during the process and that was largely thanks to the professionalism and kind manner of all the staff involved."

After receiving the vaccine, a sore arm was all that the recipient felt. However thirty six hours later, she felt slightly nauseous and had a mild headache. Fortunately, these symptoms subsided three hours later and she then felt back to normal. 

After having this discussion, it was seemingly an overall positive experience for the high risk individual, an experience that roughly 18 million people in the UK have endured. Hopefully, this continues to increase as the UK leaves COVID behind.