Authorities in the UK began rolling out the first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, December 8th. The patient was Margaret Keenan age 90. She is the world’s first person to receive the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine outside of a trial. She received the vaccine at University Hospital Coventry at 6:30 a.m. and reported feeling “privileged to be the first person to receive the vaccine”
People over 80, health and social care staff, as well as care home workers were the first to receive the vaccine on Tuesday, and they will require a second dose in 21 days. The UK has 800,000 doses and expects to have up to 4 million available by the end of December.
Buckingham Palace has not yet commented on reports that Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, would be vaccinated as a public example of its safety. “Our goal is totally to protect every member of the population, Her Majesty, of course, as well,” Dr. June Raine, chief executive of Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, told the BBC.
In early December, the UK became the first country to approve the BioNtech-Pfizer vaccine, which boosted hope across the nation. Officials have asked the general public to be patient at this stage because only those at high risk will be vaccinated. Most people will have to wait until next year. The first 800,000 doses will go to people over 80 who are and nursing home workers. The government is targeting more than 25 million people, or about 40% of the population, in the first phase of its vaccination program.
The UK has been severely affected by the pandemic with over 61,000 deaths and 1.6 million cases. The country has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine — enough doses for 20 million people. Prime Minister Johnson, who was hospitalized earlier this year due to Covid-19, called it a “huge step forward” in the fight against the virus.
The EU is also evaluating the BioNtech-Pfizer vaccine, as well as two others: the one developed by US biotechnology company Moderna, and the joint efforts of Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
