COVID-19: 90-Year-Old Margaret Keenan Receives First Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine In UK

A ninety-year-old British woman, Margaret Keenan, has become the first person to be vaccinated in the UK against COVID-19. She lives in Coventry and received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, a week after the UK became the first country to approve its use.

Keenan, who will turn 91 next week, is a former jewellery shop assistant. She retired four years ago and has a daughter, a son and four grandchildren. "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," she said after getting the coronavirus shot outside of clinical trials, The Independent reported.

90-year-old Margaret Keenan is the first to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, administered by Matron May Parsons, as UK's mass vaccination programme begins https://t.co/3eBGv3RUsU pic.twitter.com/ltWAL8uDmr

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) December 8, 2020

Keenan went to a hospital in Coventry, central England, to get vaccinated. "I can't thank May and the NHS staff enough who have looked after me tremendously, and my advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it - if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too," she added.

Talking about the next batch of the Pfizer vaccine rolling out next week, health minister Matt Hancock told Sky News, "We have a high degree of confidence in the delivery that will come next week." Also reacting to Keenan's vaccinated news, he said he felt "quite emotional" seeing her pictures, reflecting that the programme was starting across 70 hospitals in the UK.

British regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) claimed the UK has bought 40m doses of the vaccine (enough to vaccinate 20m people) which can provide up to 95% protection against COVID-19 illness, according to the BBC.

Pfizer-BioNTech and US biotech firm Moderna have been sharing preliminary findings of more than 90% effectiveness of this RNA (mRNA) technology vaccine which could help the body fight COVID-19  and build immunity.

Feature Image Credit: AP

Read More Stories By Ria Das