UK starts mass Covid-19 vaccination

LONDON (Dec 9): The UK started its mass vaccination programme against Covid-19 yesterday, making it the first “western” country to do so, say reports.

Calling it the “V-Day” and “Vaxit” health workers yesterday began vaccinating the general population with the vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

According to a report by Reuters, Margaret Keenan, 90, is the first person in the world to take vaccine outside of a trial when she received the injection at a hospital in Coventry, central England.

"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," Reuters reported her saying.

"My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it ­— if I can have it at 90, then you can have it, too," the Washington Post reported Keenan saying , as she was wheeled down the hallway at the hospital, with hospital staff applauding her.

CNBC reported that 81-year-old William Shakespeare was the second person to take the vaccine, also in Coventry.

“No, no, not nervous at all… I’m very apprehensive about the side effects ... but there’s a small chance of that,” said Shakespeare, who lives in Warwickshire.

According to earlier reports, high-risk groups such as front-line health workers, nursing home workers and those aged over 80, will be given the vaccines first before it is given “more widely among the UK population”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the media that the vaccinations are a “huge step forward in the fight against the pandemic”, while NHS England’s Chief Executive Simon Stevens said it represented a “decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus”.

"If we manage to do that for everybody who is vulnerable to this disease, then we can move on and we can return to normal," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

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