A RETIRED engineer surveyor was one of the first Frimley Health patients to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Brian Duke, 81, was one of the first Frimley Health Care patients to have the Covid-19 vaccine and he 'couldn't wait for his appointment'.

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He had the injection at 8.19am on Tuesday, December 15 and said: “I like to be early for an appointment.”

The resident has missed seeing his grandchildren, who live on the Isle of Wight, due to the pandemic but believes the vaccine will give him hope to see them again.

He said: “I live on my own and I have spent a lot of time indoors and I’ve been very careful when I’ve gone out shopping.

“It has been a bit difficult and you don’t know what’s going to happen next so you can’t really plan for anything.”

He said the arrival of the vaccine was “brilliant for everybody”.

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It’s particularly good for him, as his second dose, in early January, will be on his 82nd birthday.

Dr Gareth Robinson, Clinical Director for Yateley Primary Care Network and GP Partner at Oakley Health Group said the vaccine roll out has had a "really good start".

He added: “We’ve had a full turnout, with groups of patients booked every 10 minutes. Patients have been really excited, from the point of being called up to book an appointment to coming along. They’re really enthusiastic and happy to be here and to have a glimpse of a more normal life in the future.

“For us it’s very exciting to be part of Wave One and to get to do this first. We’ve always been interested in looking at new ways of doing things so when I got a phone call asking if we were interested in going first we were delighted.”

He praised all those involved in the operation, from practice staff who had cancelled leave or were working in their time off and he also thanked Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust for its support with storing and transporting the vaccine.

“This has been a real joint effort, with a number of organisations working together,” he said.