Covid: Staff Fears Allayed As They Explain Why They Had Vaccine

Aylona Dael

Staff at Royal Star & Garter have been giving their reasons why they opted to have the Covid vaccine.

One revealed she had initial reservations due to a food allergy, which were dispelled by medical experts, while a fitness fanatic said he would never take anything that would harm his body, and felt assured that the vaccine was safe.

The blogs are from staff members across Royal Star & Garter’s three Homes in Solihull, Surbiton and High Wycombe. The charity provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia.

Aylona Dael, a nurse at the Surbiton Home, said she was harbouring fears when she went for her first jab, but was reassured by staff at the hospital: “I had been scared before going for the vaccine because I had seen in the news that a few NHS staff had suffered side effects. I spoke to the doctor about my concerns and she explained to me if you’re a healthy person, you won’t be having these side effects. I was OK then, I was put at ease and confident everything would be alright. And it was!” Aylona said she has now convinced her elderly mother-in-law to be vaccinated.

Self-confessed fitness fanatic Louis Laleye is a physiotherapist at the High Wycombe Home. He was vaccinated along with his wife, also a physiotherapist, and said: “I’m a fit and healthy person, I take care of my body and look after it. I have no doubt that the vaccine is safe. If I had any concerns that it would be harmful to my health, I wouldn’t have had it and neither would my wife.”

Louis Laleye

Lisa Hutchins, receptionist at the Solihull Home, was able to have the vaccine despite having a shellfish allergy. She said: “I was a bit nervous, but I was reassured that unless I have severe reactions to food and medication, I could have the Pfizer vaccine.”

Lisa Hutchins

And Liz Donaldson, Dementia Care Manager at the Surbiton Home, said it was an easy decision to be vaccinated: “There’s a lot of myths and nonsense on social media about the vaccine, but I don’t believe it. I believe this is the most effective way we have of returning to normality… hopefully the vaccine will change things.”

Liz Donaldson

The blogs are available to view on the Royal Star & Garter’s blog page. Also there is the charity’s ‘Covid: Life on the frontline’ series, which captured the accounts of its staff and residents during the pandemic.