A 90-year-old woman became the first person in the United Kingdom to receive Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. NPR writes:
Margaret Keenan, a grandmother of four, made history Tuesday after getting a potentially life-saving birthday present.
With one shot — or “jab” as Britons might say — Keenan, who turns 91 next week, officially launched the U.K.’s nationwide coronavirus immunization campaign — the largest such effort in its history.
This is the moment that 90-year-old grandmother Margaret Keenan returned to the ward at her local hospital in Coventry, after she became the first person in the world to receive the clinically-approved #COVIDVaccine this morning 👏🏾👏🏼👏🏽 pic.twitter.com/80yRjJLRhM
— NHS Midlands (@NHSMidlands) December 8, 2020
The BBC reports that up to four million doses are expected by the end of the month. The first people receiving the vaccine are those over 80 and prioritized health care workers.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has dubbed Tuesday V-day, said this simple act of vaccination was “a tribute to scientific endeavour and human ingenuity and to the hard work of so many people.”
Today marks the fightback against our common enemy: #coronavirus.
While there is much to celebrate, we mustn’t blow it – we must all play our part in suppressing the virus until the vaccine can make us safe pic.twitter.com/5uiEobw2WT
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) December 8, 2020
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted, “Got a bit of a lump in the throat watching this. Feels like such a milestone moment after a tough year for everyone. The first vaccines in Scotland will be administered today too.”
If you watch one thing today – make it this.
This British man was just vaccinated.
A pure gold live TV interview… https://t.co/3AuVI9ZvEX
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) December 8, 2020
Watch more above from CNBC.