COVENTRY: Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week becomes the first person in the world to be given Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as part of the country mass vaccination programme.
The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was the first of 800,000 doses of which will be administered in the coming weeks in the biggest and most challenging vaccination program in the history of the country.
Margaret Keenan, the first patient in Britain to receive the coronavirus vaccine, hopes to set an example for people hesitant to become vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/kMGEp7F4Vy
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 8, 2020
Britain has purchased 40 million doses of the clinically approved vaccine and the first batch of 800,000 will be administered to 400,000 people who will be given two doses each.
Furthermore, the vaccination will be administered at 50 hospital ‘hubs’ were there is specialist storage equipment for the vaccine as it as strenuous storage requirements and needs to be kept at extremely cold temperature.
Margaret Keenan, a 90 year old grandmother hailing from Northern Ireland is the first person to be administered the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the University Hospital in Coventry, a city northwest of London.
“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19,” said Keenan while sharing her experience which she described as a shot like any other which was administered by May Parsons, a matron at University Hospital in Coventry.
“It’s a huge honor to be the first person in the country to deliver a Covid-19 jab to a patient,” said Parsons. “I’m just glad that I’m able to play a part in this historic day.”
Keenan has been isolating at home for most of the year and is looking forward to spending time with her family after getting the vaccination. “My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it,” said Keenan. “If I can do it, so can you.”
However, it will take many months to vaccinate everybody who needs it according to the medical director at the National Health Service, professor Stephen Powis but today did mark a landmark moment in the fight against COVID-19.
“Less than a year after the first case of this new disease was diagnosed, the NHS has now delivered the first clinically approved Covid-19 vaccination — that is a remarkable achievement.” said NHS England Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens.
Furthermore, the second patient to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the hospital was Willian Shakespeare who also became a trending topic on Twitter.
The start of COVID-19 vaccination certainly gives everyone around the world a much need morale boost after a long and hard year with 1.5 million people dead to the infection along with 65 million others who got sick.
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