- The tiny remote island of Fair Isle received its second doses of the
AstraZeneca vaccine this week. - All 45 adults of the island were fully vaccinated in one go. The three remaining children must wait.
- The tiny island, which is just 2.9 square miles, is eager to see tourists again.
All adults of the 48-strong population of a tiny remote island in the UK have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and are eagerly awaiting the return of tourists, the BBC reported.
All 45 people over the age of 18 on the island off the northern coast of
Three children will have to wait for
Getting the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to the tiny island would have been a logistical nightmare, BBC Scotland's Jen Stout reported. The shot, which until recently required ultra-low storage temperatures, would have been difficult to get on the tiny airplanes and boats that go to the windy territory, part of the Shetland Islands.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, however, could be transported in a two-seater airplane in a cold box.
The whole second-dose vaccination program took just one morning, the Press and Journal reported.
"Fair Isle was one of those areas in the UK where there were no confirmed COVID cases, so we thought it was really important to continue that as a statistic moving forward," the director of health and community care in the area told BBC radio Scotland's "Good Morning Scotland."
Fair Isle is the most remote inhabited part of the UK. It is not connected to the main electricity grid and has had reliable electricity only since 2018, which comes from a system of solar panels and wind turbines. It is 3 miles long and 1.5 miles wide.
The island is known for its observatory, which watches migratory birds, and its particular style of woolen sweaters.
Alex Penn, an assistant warden at the Fair Isle Bird Observatory, snapped a picture of the tiny island on Monday:
-Alex Penn (@AlexPenn_1) April 12, 2021
The oldest inhabitant of the island, John Best, said the island felt like "one of the safest places in the country" in the pandemic, the BBC reported.
The islanders are hoping this could mean a lifting of restrictions, as they are looking forward to getting back to welcoming people, the BBC said.
One nurse who administered the shots said the program had "been great."
"The boat managed to come in yesterday, so we had a full shop, and now we have had our second vaccinations, the sun is out, and the lambs are coming," Kirstin Robson told "Good Morning Scotland."