East Wittering great-grandparents receive second Covid-19 vaccine in morale-boosting T-shirts - 'I cannot recommend it highly enough'

Grandparents-of-nine Michael and Cynthia Grundy turned up together at Selsey Medical Practice on April 2, in 'I got shot twice' T-shirts designed by their daughter, Jacki.

The senior citizens, who became great-grandparents on Easter Sunday, were among 2,000 recent visitors to the Selsey Centre, which reopened for business last week.

"We are both absolutely delighted," Mr Grundy said. "For many years, we have taken the flu jab and have a bit of a lazy arm. This thing is completely painless.

"I didn't have any side effects. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

"Selsey, of course, has been absolutely astonishing with their performance. They are marvellous people and there are a lot of volunteers working overtime to make sure we all have the vaccine."

Mr Grundy said the T-shirts 'made people smile' and hopes that they will encourage people, who are 'not too sure' about the vaccine, 'to have a go'.

"I'm 79 this month and my wife is 82," he said. "If we can do it and walk away with it with a lot of joy, [anyone can].

"We haven't met anybody so far who has refused to take it, which is a good thing.

"We haven't done much socialising. We've been strict at home with the lockdown rules."

"I was out in the gym today (Tuesday, April 13) for the first time in months. It was very pleasant [but] we've got to be very cautious.

"You see lots of people gathering on beaches and parks and your heart jumps a bit. It's not the way it should be."

Jacki, who runs The Happy Bee House gift shop, said she hoped her 'light-hearted' T-shirts would 'put a smile on the face of the volunteers'.

She added: "Selsey have a really good, slick service, that everybody locally has been really thrilled about.

"I worked for the NHS myself previously and I thought they would appreciate a bit of humour and people being really positive about it.

"It raises morale."

'There is certainly a great atmosphere'

Selsey Medical Centre said it has begun to offer second vaccinations to the first cohorts who 'originally came back in mid-January'.

An NHS spokesperson said: "Currently we are running Pfizer clinics at the centres, and there is also quantity of AstraZeneca for care homes residents and staff, and our housebound patients (everyone will have the same type of vaccine for both doses).

"It has been really uplifting to see these people again — many of whom are very elderly, but also lovely to be able to spend a few moments chatting with them; especially those who have been isolating and who may not have seen anyone else for such a long time now.

"There is certainly a great atmosphere, and the team of marshals, administrators and vaccinators are glad to be working together again in such a positive way."

If you had your first dose 11 weeks ago at Selsey or Tangmere, you 'should shortly be contacted' by the bookings team to organise your second appointment.

"They will send a text if possible, so you can make your own appointment online, but if you don’t have access to this technology, they will also ring you on the phone number you have registered with your GP practice.

"If you feel you have been missed and you had your first dose about 12 weeks ago, please contact the bookings team on 0333 370 4111, Monday to Friday, 8.30am-12.30pm.

"Please do not ring this number before your 12 weeks is up, as they won’t be able to book any further than one week ahead of the current date and we are not allowed to carry out second doses any sooner."

'Because all of our vaccine supplies and clinics are now scheduled exclusively for second doses', the NHS is not offering any more first doses at either local centre.

The spokesperson added: "If you are in the 'second wave' of younger adults, you will be offered your first dose at one of the mass-vaccination sites, such as Westgate.

"Let’s all hope that as lockdown eases and more of us are vaccinated, we can all start to enjoy the re-opening retail and hospitality that Selsey has to offer — but please let’s continue to do so thoughtfully and safely."