CARE HOME residents in Bridport have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

The Harbour House Care Home in West Bay was the first in the area to begin vaccinating its residents.

Having announced last week that the Bridport Medical Centre had received a batch of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine the organisation wasted little time in getting to work, with a team attending Harbour House yesterday to give residents their first vaccines.

All but two of the home's inhabitants were able to receive the vaccine, including 100-year-old resident, Pat Blackmore.

Anna Knight, registered manager at Harbour House Care Home and chairman of the Dorset Care Homes Association, said: “The whole thing was brilliantly put together in an extremely dignified manner, it was very well organised and team were first class.

"90 per cent of staff have had their first vaccine, and 93 per cent of residents have now had their first vaccine also, two residents unable to have it due to personal circumstances. This is the start of our journey to finally beginning to get back to normality and hopefully being able to allow visitors once more.

"It’s a huge step for the care industry as a whole. It’s a massive relief for us, everything we’ve been working towards is beginning to take place."

She added: “The residents were very excited to be receiving the vaccine and they each waited very patiently until it was their turn to be vaccinated. We're happy to say there has been no side effects and all of the residents followed the vaccinations with a huge lunch - we're already looking forward to next vaccination."

Harbour House has reported no cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is easier to transport as it only needs to be kept at fridge temperature, unlike the Pfizer vaccine which must be stored at -70C.

The residents of Harbour House are scheduled to receive their second vaccine on Friday, 29 January.