London
British health authorities began rolling out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday.
The first shot came early in the morning at one of a network of hospital hubs around the country where the initial phase of the United Kingdom programme will be rolled out on what has been dubbed “V-Day.”
Public health officials are asking the public to be patient because only those who are most at risk from Covid-19 will be vaccinated in the early stages. Medical staff will contact people to arrange appointments, and most will have to wait until next year before there is enough vaccine to expand the programme.
“I think there’s every chance that we will look back on [… Tuesday] as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus,” said Simon Stevens, the chief exectuive officer of England’s National Health Service.
The first recipient was grandmother Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week. She received the shot at University Hospital Coventry at 6:31am.
Margaret Keenan, 90, walks with nurse May Parsons after becoming the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at University Hospital, Coventry, England on December 8, 2020. — AP
