Welsh carer becomes first person in UK to receive Moderna jab

Moderna vaccine to be rolled out in England ‘in next few days’

Elle Taylor, an unpaid carer from Ammanford, has become the first Briton in the UK to receive a dose of the Moderna Covid vaccine at the West Wales General hospital in Carmarthen.

Ms Taylor, 24, received the jab from staff nurse Laura French at the hospital’s outpatient department.

The Moderna vaccine is the third jab to be rolled out in the UK, following the rollout of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, which began in December and January respectively.

After she received the vaccine, she 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.”

Ms Taylor said she only found out on Tuesday evening that she would be the first Briton to receive the Moderna jab in the UK, and told reporters she had not heard of the jab until then.

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“It was great, the nurses were lovely and it didn’t hurt,” she said.

She was aware of concerns about the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, following a small number of serious blood clot cases that developed after the jab was administered.

“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.

Phase three clinical trial results of the Moderna vaccine suggest efficacy against Covid-19 was 94.1 per cent, and efficacy against severe Covid-19 was 100 per cent.

The UK has bought 17 million doses of the vaccine, enough for 8.5 million people. Small business minister Paul Scully told Sky News it would be rolled out in England “in the next few days”.

In Scotland, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said the first batch of Moderna had arrived in the country on Monday and is set to be delivered over the coming months. It has not been confirmed when the rollout of Moderna will being in Northern Ireland.