90-YO Irish Woman First To Receive Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Dose In The UK
The United Kingdom kicked off its biggest-ever vaccine campaign in history on Tuesday, as 90-year-old grandmother Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech jab against COVID-19.
As the United Kingdom kicked off its biggest-ever vaccine campaign in history on Tuesday, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech jab against COVID-19.
Twitter/NHS
At 6:31 am GMT, early riser Maggie was given the life-saving jab by nurse May Parsons, at a local hospital in Coventry, to mark what the National Health Service (NHS) has dubbed a "landmark moment" on V-Day or Vaccine Day, in the fight against the deadly virus.
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"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," said Maggie, who turns 91 next week.
Meet Maggie: the first person in the world to receive a fully-tested and approved Covid-19 vaccine on the NHS. pic.twitter.com/eb2ijTMSLW
¡ª NHS England and NHS Improvement (@NHSEngland) December 8, 2020
The former jewellery shop assistant who retired four years ago, has a daughter, a son and four grandchildren, and is looking forward to being able to go out again once she receives the top-up booster dose 21 days later.
"I can't thank May and the NHS staff enough who have looked after me tremendously, and my advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it ¨C if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too," she said.
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"It's a huge honour to be the first person in the country to deliver a COVID-19 jab to a patient, I'm just glad that I'm able to play a part in this historic day," said nurse Parsons.
Maggie, who turns 91 next week, said, 'I feel so privileged. It¡¯s the best early birthday present I could wish for because 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.' https://t.co/rTflLt8DWb pic.twitter.com/XuaAtU4JUR
¡ª NHS England and NHS Improvement (@NHSEngland) December 8, 2020
Maggie is among the first set of people contacted in advance by the NHS for the jab, based on a pre-determined health risk criteria. Among these people is also 87-year-old British-Indian grandfather of nine, Hari Shukla, who will get his first dose at a hospital in Newcastle.
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People aged 80 and over as well as care home workers, will be first to receive the jab this week, along with NHS workers who are at higher risk among the first to receive the "life-saving jab."
Since the Pfizer vaccine got the green light from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) last week, the NHS said, its workers have been working around the clock to manage the huge scale logistical challenge of deploying the vaccine. Over the weekend, hospitals have begun inviting people over 80 in for a jab, and working with care home providers to book their staff into vaccination clinics.
'I can¡¯t thank May and the NHS staff enough who have looked after me tremendously, and my advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it ¡ª if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too!' pic.twitter.com/mlIwvp6g0f
¡ª NHS England and NHS Improvement (@NHSEngland) December 8, 2020
"We will look back on today, V-day, as a key moment in our fight back against this terrible disease, and I am proud our health services across the United Kingdom are about to embark on our largest ever vaccination programme," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
"With over-80s and frontline health and care staff receiving their vaccinations from today, the whole country will breathe a collective sigh of relief as our most vulnerable loved ones start to be given protection from the virus."
The Pfizer/BionTech formula is an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight COVID-19 and build immunity.
"Today is just the first step in the largest vaccination programme this country has ever seen. It will take some months to complete the work as more vaccine supplies become available and until then we must not drop our guard,¡± said NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens, as he praised everyone involved in the first clinically approved COVID-19 vaccination for "achieving in months what normally takes years."
All Inputs PTI
