University set to train volunteers to give COVID-19 vaccine jab

The University of Huddersfield is set to help speed up the UK’s coronavirus vaccination drive by showing volunteers how to deliver the all-important vaccine jab.

Nursing academics who teach on the University’s nursing courses will, from Saturday 6 February, be giving up their time to run a day-long course for volunteers who have been registered and vetted by Health Education England (HEE).

The volunteers – who include emergency service staff and retired teachers – will be shown how to give the jab and all aspects of observing the patients afterwards, and how to deal with any adverse reactions.

“With 68 million people to be vaccinated, we need to ratchet up the vaccination programme and there aren’t enough vaccinators out there,” says Karen Currell, Principal Lecturer in Child Nursing.

“We were approached by HEE to run a vaccination training programme. The volunteers will spend the whole day with us to be taught the practicalities of vaccination. We will show them how to safely give an intramuscular injection.

“We teach them how to identify the deltoid muscle in the upper arm, how to draw up the injection safely, how to give the injection using simulated skin and how to look after each person afterwards. They’ll also be taught how to recognise where someone needs further support.

“It’s a full-on day, but really enjoyable. Volunteers will then go out for further supervised training with real patients in vaccination hubs.”

The training sessions, which will take place every Saturday for at least six weeks, will be held in the University’s Harold Wilson Building. All volunteers will have been fully vetted by HEE before they are allowed to attend the training.

Vaccination capacity is increasing

With the town’s John Smiths Stadium set to become a vaccination hub, adding the capacity of the University of Huddersfield means that there are week-around training sessions at Universities throughout Yorkshire and the Humber region.

“We are doing really well, already most over 85s are vaccinated and we have only been doing it for a few weeks, and we are getting into care homes in good numbers,” adds Karen, a registered adult and child nurse for 35 years and a trained a vaccinator. Karen has worked in a variety of settings including intensive care areas throughout her career and reports from her colleagues in practice indicate that the situation in hospitals is very serious.

“ICU beds and ICU trained staff are at a premium. The pressure on NHS staff is enormous, so if we can do anything to help alleviate this pressure, we must. Helping with vaccination is our way of doing this.

“Getting more vaccinations done by having these volunteers give the jab will only help us beat this terrible virus, but it is vital everyone still follows the rules on staying safe, washing hands, keeping your distance and wearing a mask.”