The mother-of-two carefully shielded until the government said it was safe to see friends and family. She had no idea how her existing conditions could affect her

The feeling of relief was immense as 58-year-old Michele Brown returned home from the vaccine centre. Her husband, Terry, 61, had taken time off from his job as a supervisor at a heavy machinery factory to drive her to her second Covid-19 vaccination at a Gateshead community centre. In the car, Michele told her partner of 40 years that she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “She said: ‘At least we’ve got that done,’” Terry remembers. “‘We’ll be OK.’”

It was 28 April 2021. Michele, who had rheumatoid arthritis, an underactive thyroid and diabetes, had spent the last year and a half shielding indoors, on government advice. She was careful. She had a Covid station set up on the breakfast counter: lateral flow tests, bottles of antibacterial gel and disposable face masks. When family came to visit, a mask-wearing Michele would banish them to the furthest corner of the living room. “We couldn’t kiss her,” remembers her daughter, Kim Brown, 41, who lives in Durham. “She would say: ‘You might have the coronies! I don’t want no coronies. You’re not giving me that crap.’”