Margaret Keenan, aged 90, becomes the first person to receive the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday, at University Hospital, Coventry in the United Kingdom.
"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 Keenan in a statement.
She will receive her second dose of the vaccine in three weeks, with full immunity expected a week after that. The second person to receive the vaccine was an 81-year-old man named William Shakespeare from Warwickshire (which also happens to be the birthplace of the famous bard with whom he shares a name). Nurse May Parsons, who administered the vaccine to both Keenan and Shakespeare, said it was a "great honour" to play a part in "this historic day."
Last week, the UK became the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for use. Now, the UK is the first to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.
Pfizer said the vaccine had been 95% effective in its rigorous clinical trials.
Around 70 hospital hubs across the UK are being used to administer the vaccines. Among the first to receive the injections are patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay.
Next on the priority list are residents of care homes and their carers, followed by people over 80 and frontline health and care staff. The hope is to avoid overwhelming the country's National Health Service in the middle of winter, its busiest time of the year.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was hospitalised with the virus in April, thanked via tweet the NHS and the scientists responsible for the virus. He also went to see vaccinations taking place at Guys Hospital in London on Tuesday morning.
