AN 81-YEAR-old grandma was one of the first people to receive the Covid-19 vaccine at Millom’s Waterloo House GP Surgery.

Marion Johnson, who has lived in Millom for most of her life, said she was delighted to receive the jab and hopes to be reunited with her family soon.

She said: “I was quite surprised to find out that I would be getting the vaccine so quickly and very glad to find out that it was being delivered in Millom.

“It was all very well organised and everyone was very cheerful.

“There were also a lot of volunteers there and it was amazing to see how many of them were outside helping, despite the awful weather.

“I have one granddaughter in London and another in Manchester, which means that one sister hasn’t been able to see the other sister in almost a year.

“Having the vaccine means that hopefully we can get back to some sort of normality and be able to mix with our family and friends again.”

Yesterday marked the start of a three-day period where selected patients over the age of 80 will be inoculated with the PfizerBioNTech vaccine against the deadly virus.

The Mail: COVID-19: Vaccine.COVID-19: Vaccine.

Dr Richard Walker, GP partner at Waterloo House GP Surgery and Clinical Lead for Barrow and Millom Integrated Care Community, is pleased that Millom, alongside Barrow, will now provide the Covid-19 vaccine.

He said: “Due to the location of Millom and how rural it is, I’m happy to say that we have managed to secure an additional site for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine so it can be administered locally, and our patients won’t have to travel far.

“We’re excited to be involved in this piece of work and as a practice we’re keen to deliver this service locally.

The Mail: Walney resident Pat Lumb gets her Covid19 shot from Dr Arun Thimmiah at the start of the vaccination programme at Alfred Barrow Health Centre. December 15th 2020..Walney resident Pat Lumb gets her Covid19 shot from Dr Arun Thimmiah at the start of the vaccination programme at Alfred Barrow Health Centre. December 15th 2020..

“We’re also very grateful for the support of the local volunteers, the town council and our own staff for making this happen.

“It shows the strength of our local community in working together in these challenging times.”

Dr Walker continued by urging eligible patients to come and receive the vaccine when they are called to do so.