London: A 90-year-old British grandmother, Margaret “Maggie” Keenan, on Tuesday became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech jab against COVID-19 as the UK kicked off its biggest-ever vaccine campaign in history.
At 6:31 am GMT early riser Margaret, known to family and friends as Maggie, was given the life-saving jab by nurse May Parsons at her 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.
Maggie is among the first set of people contacted in advance by the NHS for the jab based on a predetermined health risk criteria.
The second person vaccinated was 81-year-old William Shakespeare from Warwickshire, who said he was “pleased” to be given the jab.
“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.
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 – if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too,” she said.
“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.
“Today marks a huge step forward in the UK’s fight against coronavirus, as we begin delivering the vaccine to the first patients across the whole country. I am immensely proud of the scientists who developed the vaccine, members of the public who took part in trials, and the NHS who have worked tirelessly to prepare for rollout,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
However, he struck a note of caution to say that mass vaccination will take time, and therefore there was a need to remain “clear-eyed” about the challenges that remain.
