Photographer Page

Matt Davis

Zoe Harrigan, 38, York: “I work as a stained glass conservator for the York Glaziers Trust. It’s a charitable trust dedicated to the care and conservation of historic stained glass in York Minster and throughout the UK. Projects range from great medieval cathedrals to the smallest of parish churches and private collections. Since March 2021, I’ve been involved in nearly 1,000 vaccinations, volunteering as a patient advocate and carer looking after people before and after receiving their jabs. I enjoy talking to people and trying to make them feel at ease. I always thank them for turning up to be vaccinated. For some, it’s a real feat of bravery and I want them to know we’re very grateful and appreciative.”

Zainab Yasmin, 43, London. “I work as a public health programme manager in Tower Hamlets. I’m studying for a masters degree in public health. I joined St John Ambulance in March 2020, but I couldn’t start volunteering immediately as I contracted COVID 19. Experiencing the psychological and physical symptoms of COVID spurred me to want to help even more. I volunteered at Heathrow Airport as part of the Falcon Moonshot study to test and validate new, faster COVID tests. Now I’m volunteering at the Royal London Hospital, supporting staff in the emergency department and adult critical care alongside my role as a vaccinator.”

Rachel Gillis, 33, and Medina Walters, 65, Leeds. Rachel (left): “My mum and I are black British Caribbean and I’m a Muslim. We live together in Leeds. My mum is a retired nurse. She now works as a part-time minibus driver for our local council, taking vulnerable adults to day centres. I work as a freelance translator, mainly for UN organisations, translating documents. We both knew how important the vaccination campaign would be for getting the country back to normal and we wanted to contribute to the effort. I'm an avid flamenco dancer and I recently took up kickboxing, which I really enjoy. In her spare time, mum loves gardening, reading, cycling and DIY. She’s the person who most inspires me. She's such a hard worker and she's instilled that same ethic in me.”

Pieter Rutkowski, 59, Cheadle Hume: “I’m a retired US army officer and during my 30-year military career I made 52 parachute jumps and, as a registered nurse, administered vaccinations on five continents. One of the highlights of my army career was meeting Neil Armstrong. I was working at the Landstuhl Military Medical Centre in Germany in March 2010 where we treated many of the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan. I was just coming off a long shift in the operating theatre when I saw a crowd of older men over in the Intensive Care Unit. One of the men came over, shook my hand and said, in a very soft and unassuming voice: “Hi, I’m Neil Armstrong”. I was a bit taken aback and said: “Sir, I know who you are”. He just smiled and asked how things were going. He was on the “The Legends of Aerospace” tour of famous aviators and astronauts visiting wounded US soldiers in various parts of the world. It was such an extraordinary honour to meet these incredible men - one I shall never forget.”

Nia Faulder, 35, Bolton: “A mum of two, I’m a scientist and I work as a programme manager for an international education provider in Manchester. I use a wheelchair because I suffered a nerve compression injury during pregnancy in 2017. I’ve been playing wheelchair basketball with The Bulls Disabled Sports Club in Bolton since June 2019. My disability nearly precluded me from training to be a vaccinator as one of the screening questions was “can you stand up for a six-hour shift?” to which I obviously replied “no”. After exchanges with the HR and occupational health teams, I was accepted on the training programme. My beloved grandad was my greatest inspiration in life and he died of Covid in January 2021, shortly before he was due to be vaccinated.”

Muni Colverley, 60, Ashton-under-Lyne: “I’m one of five siblings, born in a small village in the foothills of Mount Kenya. We had an amazing childhood living in harmony with nature on our farm where there was no electricity. We’d get very close to leopards, elephants and other forest inhabitants. My parents decided their children should be educated in England so we all came here in 1978. I’ve been a magistrate since 2004 and continue to sit at the local court and both crown courts in Manchester. My first shift as a vaccinator was at the Manchester Vaccination Centre (Etihad) on in January 2021. I was a bit anxious because I’d never given anyone an injection before! The training was excellent and the NHS staff were really good and put me at ease.”

Ka Chun Li, 20, London. “I moved from my home in Hong Kong last year to start a degree in microbiology at Imperial College, London. I joined St John Ambulance to meet new people. As well as being a volunteer vaccinator, I’m also part of the National Welcome Team so I interview people who apply to volunteer for the vaccination programme. It feels good knowing that we’re making progress. My hobbies include swimming, reading, Netflix, running and travelling.”

Claire Vallance, 45, Oxford: “I’m a Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Oxford. I volunteered in trials of the university’s COVID vaccine developed in partnership with AstraZeneca, and liked the idea of training as a volunteer vaccinator as it meant being involved in the project from start to finish. When I’m not giving lectures and tutorials and working on my research projects, I enjoy endurance sports – cycling, triathlons and long-distance swimming in particular. My newest passion is marathon kayaking, which I took up at the end of the first lockdown. I play piano, violin and viola from time to time in various quartets, orchestras and other groups. I also like reading complete rubbish – proper “chick lit”. While I obviously do read some serious books, I’ve certainly disappointed many people who have preconceived ideas of what an Oxford professor should be reading in her spare time...”

Anna Watkins, 38, Cheltenham. “I live on a farm near Cheltenham with my husband and two sons. I won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, both in the double sculls. Last year I volunteered as a community responder, chatting with local people and helping them with things like shopping. I thought to myself ‘all I do is row backwards very quickly!’. So when I was offered the chance to train as a volunteer vaccinator, I didn’t hesitate. During lockdown most of my time has been taken up with home schooling my two sons. In many ways competing in the Olympics was more straightforward! That was something I’d trained for, I knew exactly what I was doing, I had a team to support me and all I had to do was show up on the day and give it my best.”

Alan Wrigley, 69, Yorkshire: “I used to be a commercial pilot and still work part-time as a flight examiner. I was part of teams that built a Eurofox two-seater light aeroplane and re-built a Falke motor glider. It was very rewarding to fly something that one had been responsible for creating. My passions in life include my family, gliding, playing the saxophone – and I’m a great admirer of the late Leonard Cohen who wrote the most beautiful lyrics and sang them in an incomparable voice. The person who most inspires me is The Queen who has given her whole life selflessly to public service. I speak Spanish and spend five to six months in Jerez each year.”