Maggie, 90, the first to get UK coronavirus jab

A 90-year-old grandmother has become the first person in ­Britain to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

Margaret Keenan is given the vaccine on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

A 90-year-old grandmother has become the first person in ­Britain to receive the coronavirus vaccine, with the move heralded as a “decisive turning point in the battle with the pandemic”.

Margaret Keenan — known as Maggie to her friends and family — relaxed with a cup of tea after being given the vaccine at 6.31am (5.31pm AEDT) on Tuesday at University Hospital in Coventry in central England.

She was among hundreds of elderly people and healthcare staff who were to receive the ­Pfizer-Biontech ­vaccine on what has been called V-Day.

Maggie, who turns 91 next week, said: “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.”

The head of the National Health Service, Sir Simon Stevens, suggested that the corona­virus would go the way of polio and smallpox, as the NHS prepared to become the world’s first health service to begin mass vaccinations.

Among those to be vaccinated in one of 50 hospital “hubs” that received the first doses of the vaccine was Hari Shukla, 87, a former teacher, and his wife, Ranjan, 83, who were to have the jab at Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

“I’m so pleased we are hopefully coming towards the end of this pandemic and I am delighted to be doing my bit by having the vaccine,” Dr Shukla, a race-relations campaigner, said.

Boris Johnson said that the program marked “a huge step forward in the UK’s fight against coronavirus”. The Prime Minister urged people to stick to social-distancing rules as it “ramps up in the weeks and months ahead”. He said: “Mass vaccination will take time, and we must remain clear-eyed about the challenges that ­remain.”

Each hospital has received one 975-dose batch so far and Nadhim Zahawi, the Vaccine Deployment Minister, said the aim was to “take it slowly” to resolve any teething problems. Health chiefs are expecting a gradual start to a program that aims to vaccinate tens of millions of people within months.

Sir Simon, chief executive of NHS England, called the virus “the greatest health challenge in NHS history”. A further 1438 COVID-19 patients were admitted on Monday, bringing the total in hospital to 14,556.

“The deployment of this vaccine marks a ­decisive turning point in the battle with the pandemic,” he said. “NHS vaccination programs which have helped to overcome tuberculosis, polio and smallpox now turn their focus to coron­avirus.”

The Pfizer vaccine must be kept at minus 70C and can be moved four times before it is injected, meaning initially it can only be administered at hospitals. Care home staff and residents, who are at the top of the list, are being called into hospitals to receive the jab.

Patients over 80, second on the list alongside NHS staff, will receive the jab if they are visiting hospital this week. Frontline health workers will be vaccinated this week if their hospitals have supplies left over.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said that “we will look back on today, V-Day, as a key moment in our fight back against this terrible disease”.

The Times