‘There is light’ – Meet the Virgin Atlantic cabin crew member who's now administering the vaccine

Pre-pandemic, a normal working day for Lisa Holt might have seen her jetting off to New York with her fellow Virgin Atlantic cabin crew but, in an unlikely twist, yesterday she was at London’s ExCel centre administering the Covid vaccine.

Speaking shortly after her first shift at the mass vaccination centre, which only opened on Monday, she was still “buzzing” from being part of what has been described by Health Secretary Matt Hancock as “one of the biggest civilian projects in history.” Summing up the day, she says: “It was fantastic.”

In a much-needed contrast to unrelentingly bleak news of the past two weeks, she describes a scene of hope. “Most people coming through are quite elderly and there was a real sense of relief in the room. Spirits were high, which was great.”

Lisa is one of hundreds of Virgin Atlantic staff members taking part in the scheme. Hearing her describe her training, you are reminded of the logistical challenges of a immunisation roll-out on this scale and the manpower required to do it at such rapid speed.

“There were quite a few of us, about 30 in my group alone. We were divided up into different roles such as admin, front of house and vaccinator – my role.”

“We had an induction and then we went straight into training, which included how to inject, and we also learnt about the AstraZeneca vaccine itself. Then we did some first aid training, from CPR to general well-being. After that we went straight into the role and were assessed – and, at the end of the day, I administered my first vaccine.”

Lisa says the centre has kicked off doing around 500 vaccines each day, but this will soon be scaled up to thousands.

In a discombobulating year for all, the travel industry in particular has been knocked for six. For the vast majority of airline crew, their demanding jobs that for many felt life-defining were suddenly replaced by the uncertainty and boredom of furlough.

After flights were grounded back in March, Lisa decided to join Project Wingman, a dedicated voluntary programme for airline staff to support the NHS, which has attracted more than 5,500 crew in 85 hospitals across the country since the onset of the pandemic.

Explaining its mission, she says: “We set up airport-style ‘lounges' in hospitals to make sure staff felt taken care of, providing cakes and things, and also creating an environment that took them away from the ward, to de-stress them and provide conversation and relief.”

After the lounge aspect of Project Wingman wound down in the summer, Lisa transferred to a more medical role, which has no doubt prepared her well for her job as vaccinator at the ExCel.

“The hospitals decided to keep us on as paid staff to do all the door work, and help out with the flu vaccine rollout – they gave us different roles such as temperature checking too.”

It’s estimated that 1.3 million NHS staff have been welcomed into the hospital lounges, which have since started up again as the second wave continues to take its toll. It was through Project Wingman and working at the hospital that Lisa came to hear about the vaccinator drive and swiftly applied.

“If you were going to ask me two or three years ago what I’d be doing now, I would never have dreamed it would be this. But I’m so happy that I’ve had the training with Virgin and am able to utilise it for this cause.”

Although an unexpected turn of events, it’s easy to see how the qualities that cabin crew require such as being unflappable, efficient and soothing (plus having first aid training) translate well to a medical setting.

There’s also something fitting about a member of the worst hit industries literally being part of the solution and hopefully bringing back the possibility of travel, one jab at a time. For Lisa, the desire to join the programme is straightforward: “Generally airline crew have a great need to be part of something, to be helpful, to be involved.”

Corneel Koster, chief customer and operating officer at Virgin Atlantic, believes his staff are a great fit for the roll-out.

“Our people undergo rigorous training programmes in their roles which include medical, safety and customer service training and the NHS recognises the value and experience they will bring to this crucial mass vaccination programme,” he says.

Virgin Atlantic is not alone in encouraging and securing vaccinator roles for its staff. Easyjet has also announced that a number of its cabin crew will join the inoculation effort and more airlines may follow as the Government aims to reach its ambitious target of two million jabs a week. Elsewhere in the industry, hotel groups including Accor and Best Western have offered up their properties as vaccination centres and travel agent Flight Centre has offered its shops, though the Government has yet to confirm whether they will be used.

Has being part of the vaccine roll-out given Lisa optimism for the future of the travel sector?

“Definitely, that’s the sense I got from today,” she says.

“It felt like ‘this is it’. It’s been a lengthy process, waiting to hear about the vaccine trials and approvals, but now it feels really positive – there is light. It’s given people clarity that things can only get better.”

With that optimism in mind, where would she like to travel when we can return to the skies? Naturally, it’s back to New York.

“It’s a very special place to me. A city that has everything – so diverse, exciting and we always have a good time as crew there. I can’t wait.”