Care home workers from Whitehaven have been among the first to receive the new COVID-19 vaccination.
Staff from the Gables residential home went to the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven for the first dose of the vaccine, as part of the national rollout programme.
A second dose will be required in 21 days.
Appointments will continue through the rest of the week.
Social care staff at larger care homes are among the high priority groups identified nationally to receive the vaccine first.
Staff at The Gables were told about the opportunity over the weekend and teams have worked hard to ensure everyone had the information they needed to make an informed choice.
Caroline Kennedy, support worker at The Gables, was vaccinated this morning.
She said: “Being able to get vaccinated today was brilliant. It’s absolutely what we’ve all been waiting for and it was fabulous that Whitehaven got the opportunity. It’s given the whole home a boost, the past 10 months have been hard and this is the breakthrough we need.
“I didn’t have any nervousness getting the vaccine, I just felt strongly is was the right thing to do for myself, my family, my colleagues and our residents.”
Patricia Bell, cabinet member for adult social care, said: “This is a really emotional day. Social care staff in our residential homes have had an incredibly tough time over the past 10 months on the frontline of the fight against the virus and they deserve great thanks and praise.
“While there’s still a very long way to go, the start of the vaccination programme means we can see light at the end of the tunnel and that is hugely encouraging.”
Deborah Earl, cabinet member for communities and public health, said: “It’s wonderful to see people starting to receive the vaccine today, it really does mark the start of a new phase in the fight against this virus.
“It is important to stress though that getting the whole population vaccinated is a huge challenge and will take time.
“People in the most vulnerable groups are rightly being prioritised and I’d ask everyone else to be patient and keep following all the basic rules – hand, face, space – to help slow the spread. But now we really can keep people safe and start to put this behind us.”
For further information about the vaccination programme visit www.nhs.uk/covidvaccine
