Moderna vaccine UK rollout: Unpaid carer becomes first person in UK to receive jab

An unpaid carer has become the first person in the UK to receive the Moderna vaccine after getting the jab in Wales today.

Elle Taylor, from Ammanford, received the vaccine at the West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen.

The 24-year-old works at a further education college in Llanelli as well as caring for her 82-year-old grandmother.

She received the jab from staff nurse Laura French at the hospital's outpatients department.

Everything you need to know about the Moderna vaccine - including how...

What Elle Taylor said

Speaking afterwards, Miss Taylor said: "I'm very excited and very happy.

"I'm an unpaid carer for my grandmother so it is very important to me that I get it, so I can care for her properly and safely.

"My grandmother has had her first dose and she is going for her second dose on Saturday."

Miss Taylor said she only found out on Tuesday evening that she was to be the first Briton to receive the Moderna jab in the UK.

"It was great, the nurses were lovely and it didn't hurt," she said.

‘I feel thrilled and really happy’

She said she was aware of concerns about patients receiving the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine developing blood clots but was not worried.

"I had heard but it doesn't concern me too much, and I guess if it happens, it happens and I am in the right care if I need it, and I feel happy that I've tried the new one," she said.

Asked how she felt to be a trailblazer for millions of other people, Miss Taylor said: "I feel thrilled and really happy and honoured, and I just hope it goes well for everybody."

The UK has bought 17 million doses of that vaccine - enough for 8.5 million people.

What politicians have said about the Moderna rollout

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was "delighted we can start the UK rollout of the Moderna vaccine in west Wales today".

He added: "The UK Government has secured vaccines on behalf of the entire nation and the vaccination programme has shown our country working together at its best."

Wales Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: "This is another key milestone in our fight against the Covid-19 pandemic."

The rollout will start in England "as soon as possible this month", a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said, but added that commercial sensitivities prevent further disclosures.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Tuesday that the Moderna jab would be deployed "around the third week of April".

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the first batch of Moderna vaccines arrived in the country on Monday and will be delivered over the coming months.

It has not been confirmed when the rollout of Moderna will begin in Northern Ireland.