Boots says it has administered over 250,000 Covid-19 vaccines since it opened the first vaccination hub in Halifax on January 14.
Currently, the pharmacy chain offers vaccines at 39 hubs across England with further plans to open more in the coming weeks, bringing the number of jabs it can administer per day across the country to 5,000.
The company is also administering Covid-19 vaccines at over 50 of its pharmacies in Northern Ireland.
Boots has polled its pharmacists who have been administering Covid-19 vaccination in England to get a sense of the cohorts who have received their vaccine dosses.
According to a survey of Boots pharmacists administering the vaccine, excitement and hope were the most common emotions when people arrive at stores for their first jab, with over one third of pharmacists surveyed noting these feelings in patients.
Patients feel overwhelmingly positive once they have had their first vaccine shot, according to the Boots poll.
Almost all pharmacists surveyed (97 per cent) said that patients have told them what they are looking forward to doing in the coming weeks and months – from meeting friends to travelling. Almost two-thirds (59 per cent) said they have witnessed patients crying tears of joy after receiving the vaccine and almost half (47 per cent) said they had seen patients taking a celebratory selfie once they have left the vaccination area.
Bilal Farooq, pharmacist at Boots in Halifax who administers the Covid-19 vaccine to patients, said: “The response we have had from patients getting their vaccine with us here at Boots in Halifax has been incredibly heart-warming. We have seen patients crying with joy, dancing and cheering after they get their jab!
“People tell us that the vaccine gives them hope of returning to normal life – from seeing family and friends to travelling – and it is the honour of my life to get to be a part of this special moment for them.”
