A WOMAN whose business has been closed down by Covid-19 has become a vaccinator in the huge immunisation effort.

Aesthetic practitioner and non-medical prescriber Jill Best, who runs her own clinic in Wemyss Bay, is administering injections across the Greater Glasgow and Clyde inoculation centres.

The highly qualified medical professional, who worked as a practice nurse for over 20 years, decided to put her skills to use while unable to operate her own business.

The 57-year-old has been doing shifts at Greenock Town Hall, Glasgow's Louisa Jordan Hospital and at Paisley's Lagoon Leisure Centre, vaccinating over 60 individuals a day.

Jill, who lives with husband John on Katrine Road, says it will be something she 'remembers forever'.

She told the Tele: "I am the tiniest cog in this massive wheel of humanity and hope, and it's a real privilege to be part of it.

"I applied for the role just after Christmas and have been working across vaccination centres for the past few weeks.

"It's really exciting to meet people and there's such a buzz about every centre I go to - they're all very well organised and it runs so smoothly.

"I can vaccinate over 60 individuals a day and because of my medical background can offer advice where necessary.

"It's such a big moment and to be able to do that for other people is amazing."

At each centre Jill works as part of a larger team with volunteers and medical professionals from a variety of disciplines - such as dentistry and midwifery - to vaccinate people.

As of Monday, 1.2m people had received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination in Scotland and 14,501 have received their second dose.

Jill has also been using her social media pages to debunk myths about the jags and to encourage everyone to get the vaccine when offered it.

She added: "I've been sharing my experiences on my business page as I have over 2,000 people following it.

"I've researched everything extensively and keep on top of the news and hope that people will read what I post and share the information, especially with so many scams going around.

"Everyone I've met, whether that be staff, volunteers or those coming to be vaccinated have helped to make the whole experience so positive and uplifting."

*To find out more about the paid and voluntary roles within the NHS GGC vaccination centres, visit bit.ly/3dd180y