A 90-year-old British grandmother became the first person in a Western country to receive an approved coronavirus vaccine, as Britain rolled out Pfizer-BioNTech’s drug in the biggest inoculation drive in its history.
Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, said it was “the best early birthday present” and added: “My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it. If I can have it at 90 then you can have it too.”
Britain last week became the first country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the pandemic, which has killed more than 1.5 million worldwide.
Britain has been one of the worst-affected countries in the world, with more than 61,000 deaths in the outbreak from 1.6 million cases.
Keenan received the jab in front of cameras at a hospital in the central English city of Coventry, followed by an elderly man called William Shakespeare.
The jab was administered by May Parsons, a nurse originally from the Philippines who has worked for Britain’s state-run National Health Service (NHS) for 23 years.
“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19,” said Keenan, a former jewelry shop worker who has two children and four grandchildren.
The over-80s care home workers and at-risk frontline health and social care staff are first in line to get the jab, on what has been dubbed “V-Day”. A second jab is required in 21 days.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent days in intensive care with Covid-19 earlier this year, called it a “huge step forward in the UK’s fight against coronavirus”.
The head of the state-run National Health Service in England, Simon Stevens, said it was a “decisive turning point” against the “greatest health challenge” since the NHS was founded in 1948.
Regulatory approval for the vaccine was given last Wednesday, sparking a race against time to prepare scores of vaccination centres across the country.
The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the jab — enough to vaccinate 20 million people — with 800,000 in the first batch.
Up to four million doses are expected by the end of December.
The mass vaccination drive is a coordinated response by all four nations of the UK — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — which normally set their own health policies.
The public has been largely favourable to the rapid approval of the vaccine, but ministers and health professionals are aware they still need to combat mistrust.
The independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency maintains that no corners were cut and its assessment and approval procedures met stringent international norms.
NHS England said thousands had already been given the jab during trials with no serious side effects. AFP/Channels TV