A British woman was the first ever person in the world to receive Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine outside clinical trials. She was vaccinated this morning in the UK, kicking off a nationwide rollout of inoculations. Tuesday has been dubbed "V-Day" — a nod to triumphs in the Second World War.
Margaret Keenan received the first of two planned jabs of the vaccine at Coventry Hospital outside Birmingham.
"I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19.... It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Stephen Powis, medical director for England’s National Health Service (NHS), both told national media they found it emotional watching footage of Keenan receiving her initial dose.
90-year-old Margaret Keenan is the first to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, administered by Matron May Parsons, as UK's mass vaccination programme begins https://t.co/3eBGv3RUsU pic.twitter.com/ltWAL8uDmr
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) December 8, 2020
The U.K. began vaccinating members of its general population through the NHS less than a week after becoming the first country to approve the shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Other nations that are set to approve the vaccine in the coming days, including Canada and the United States.
The U.K. is one of the hard-hit countries with the pandemic. There are 61,000 COVID-19 related deaths — more than any other country has reported in Europe. The U.K. has more than 1.7 million cases to date.
Source: commonspace.eu with Global News (Vancouver).
Photo: Margaret Keenan receiving her first dose of vaccine (Twitter: @donnamgriffiths).
