Margaret Keenan becomes first person to receive the Pfizer vaccine shot

As the United Kingdom began its mass-vaccination programme against Covid-19, Margaret Keenan has become the first person in the world to be administered the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

According to reports, the 90-year-old former jewellery assistant from Enniskillen in Northern Ireland, was given the shot at 6.31am GMT by her nurse May Parsons at the hospital. "I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19, it's the best early birthday present I could wish for,” Keenan said, adding that taking the vaccine means that she can look forward to spending time with her family and friends over the New Year.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed the vaccine rollout. “Today marks a huge step forward in the UK's fight against Covid-19, as we begin delivering the vaccine to the first patients across the whole country. I am immensely proud of the scientists who developed the vaccine, members of the public who took part in trials, and the NHS who have worked tirelessly to prepare for rollout,” said Johnson.

The National Health Service (NHS) has defined this as a ‘landmark moment’ in UK’s fight against Covid-19. According to reports, the NHS first got in touch with Keenan and several others like her to be vaccinated based on the health risk criteria. According to this criteria, people over the age of 80, frontline health workers and medical staff will be administered the vaccine first.

On December 2, the United Kingdom became the first country to authorize the use of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. The UK government has informed that they have received 800,000 vaccine doses so far.