Historic moment as first UK patient receives Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

Grandmother Margaret Keenan, 90, received the jab at about 6.45am in Coventry on Tuesday, marking the start of an historic mass vaccination programme.

Jabs will be administered at dozens of hospital hubs across the country from Tuesday – dubbed “V-Day” by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Mrs Keenan, known to family and friends as Maggie, received the jab at 6.31am from nurse May Parsons at her local hospital in Coventry.

Mrs Keenan, who turns 91 next week, is a former jewellery shop assistant who only retired four years ago.

She has a daughter, a son and four grandchildren.

Mrs Keenan 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.

“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.”

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens praised all those involved in delivering the new vaccine programme.

“Less than a year after the first case of this new disease was diagnosed, the NHS has now delivered the first clinically approved Covid-19 vaccination – that is a remarkable achievement,” Sir Simon said.

“A heartfelt thank you goes to everyone who has made this a reality – the scientists and doctors who worked tirelessly, and the volunteers who selflessly took part in the trials. They have achieved in months what normally takes years.

“My colleagues across the health service are rightly proud of this historic moment as we lead in deploying the PfizerBioNTech vaccine.

“I also want to thank Margaret, our first patient to receive the vaccine on the NHS.

“Today is just the first step in the largest vaccination programme this country has ever seen. It will take some months to complete the work as more vaccine supplies become available and until then we must not drop our guard. But if we all stay vigilant in the weeks and months ahead, we will be able to look back at this as a decisive turning point in the battle against the virus.”

Like many around the country, Mrs Keenan has been self-isolating for most of this year and is planning on having a very small family “bubble” Christmas to keep safe.

Originally from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, she has lived in Coventry for more than 60 years. She will receive a booster jab in 21 days to ensure she has the best chance of being protected against the virus.

NHS nurse May Parsons said it was a “huge honour” to be the first in the country to deliver the vaccine to a patient.

Speaking at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, she said: “It’s a huge honour to be the first person in the country to deliver a Covid-19 jab to a patient, I’m just glad that I’m able to play a part in this historic day.”