Vets as Covid‐19 vaccinators

AS veterinary professionals we are well placed to volunteer as vaccinators. We are used to dealing with needles and syringes as well as reconstituting and handling vaccines. It was therefore a small step for me to volunteer for the role of Covid-19 vaccinator to help protect the people most vulnerable to this disease as quickly as possible. My journey started by signing up at www.goodsamapp.org/NHSvolunteerresponders. By signing up you commit to a minimum of two eight-hour shifts a month. After completing the paper work I was contacted for an interview, which assessed who I was, why I wanted to volunteer and tried to ascertain how I would deal with certain situations. This was followed by online training and a one-day training course at a local premises. I will report back after my first experiences to let you know how I get on. THE government is urgently recruiting staff to vaccinate the population against coronavirus. Most veterinary surgeons and nurses are skilled at effectively delivering substances by injection to patients that are less cooperative than the human equivalent. It is therefore surprising to discover that the NHS professional recruitment website seeks applications to the Covid-19 vaccination workforce from healthcare professionals with a range of qualifications and backgrounds, including chiropractors, dentists, pharmacists and midwives, but not vets. In the current health emergency this appears to be a missed opportunity. “[Veterinary professionals] are well placed to volunteer as vaccinators