Richard Conroy has become the first person in the Wiltshire Council area to receive the vaccine.

Vaccination centres across four locations in the county opened their doors today (December 16).

More than 900 people at each site are expected to be given the recently-approved jab by the end of this week.

All patients will have to return for the second dose of the vaccine in around three weeks.

Mr Conroy, 86, was the first person to be vaccinated at the Corn Exchange in Devizes at 8.30am.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Conroy said: “I was invited by my GP last Wednesday, which was my birthday. The surgery sent me an email then I phoned to make the appointment.

“I feel absolutely marvellous, it’s a pretty good feeling to get the vaccine. Everyone should have the jab when it is offered.”

There is no official date yet for when the vaccine will be administered to people aged 80 or above in Salisbury.

However, a GP who used to practise in the city expects it to happen by the end of the year.

The Pfizer/BioNTech jab is currently being rolled out by NHS staff in around 50 hospitals across the country and by a number of GPs.

Gill May, Director of Nursing and Quality at Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire CCG, said: “Never before has there been a vaccination programme as ambitious as this, and it really is humbling to have been able to see everything come together so quickly and efficiently.

“These community sites are among the first of their kind, and I know that NHS teams in other areas of the country will be looking to us as they arrange their own vaccination programmes.

“We all know there is a long way to go until we can confidently say that coronavirus is no longer a threat, but we’ve taken the first steps, and it’s important to remember that even the most intimidating of journeys start with that first step forward.”

Residents are reminded not to attend any of the community vaccination sites, nor their local hospitals or GP practices, without having been invited to do so.