Volunteers Week 2022: Meet Steve, a volunteer vaccinator

Throughout the pandemic, staff from Essex County Fire and Rescue Service have volunteered their time to support their communities.

From driving ambulances to helping to move equipment between community hospitals, delivering food and medicine to people who are vulnerable and self-isolating and to supporting the national vaccination drive.

The Service has played a vital role in the county’s vaccine rollout. Volunteers helped to set up vaccination centres and have been giving their time to volunteer at centres as vaccinators and marshals to make sure members of the public can get their vaccines.  

Many members of staff volunteered their time to become volunteer vaccinators.

Group Manager Steve Wintrip has been volunteering at vaccination sites to book in and support patients throughout the pandemic along with many Fire Service colleagues.

More recently, he has trained to become a volunteer vaccinator and has given more than 1,000 vaccines across sites in Essex including Chelmsford City Racecourse, County Hall, Rayleigh and South Woodham Ferrers.

Steve said: “ It was a natural progression to become a vaccinator, although all roles at the vaccination centres were equally as important with a common desire to do our bit and get the job done.

“I must have given over 1,000 vaccines. Some days were very busy especially the December booster campaign.

“I really enjoyed the strong sense of purpose we had as a collective team at every centre I worked at but especially the positive impact it had on the patients who we immunised.”

If you want to volunteer with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, we have a number of different roles available.

Find out more at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/jobs/volunteering/