World celebrates 90 Year Old receiving first ever Covid19 vaccine on "V-Day"
By Jack Clark, 16, Worle Community School Academy
The world celebrated as 90 year old Margaret Keenan was the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday morning at 6:31am.
Margaret, who turns 91 next week, said that the vaccine was "the best early birthday present".
It was followed up by one given to William Shakespeare from Warwickshire
The vaccine is the first supply of 800,000 due to be dispensed in the coming weeks and marks an important turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pfizer vaccine is the first to be approved internationally.
The beginning of vaccinations today is a source of hope for the general public after a dismal year blighted by the pandemic.
Tuesday 8th December, dubbed "V-Day", will forever be a reminder of the great accomplishments of mankind.
Like many around the country, Maggie 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 over sixty 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, nurse May Parsons, 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.
“The last few months have been tough for all of us working in the NHS, but now it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
May, originally from the Philippines has worked in the NHS for the last 24 years and been at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire since 2003.
The phased vaccination programme will see patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, among the first to receive the life-saving jab.
(Picture by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust)
