Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old , on Tuesday became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shot outside of a trial as Britain began vaccinating its population.Keenan received the vaccine at her local hospital in Coventry, central England, on Tuesday morning at 0631 GMT .
Britain is the worst-hit European country from COVID-19, with over 61,000 deaths, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to turn the tide against the disease by rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine before the United States or European Union.
The mass inoculation will fuel hope that the world may be turning a corner in the fight against a pandemic that has crushed economies and killed more than 1.5 million, although ultra-cold storage and tricky logistics will limit its use for now.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England, said they both found it very emotional watching the vaccine programme roll out.
The BBC also carried an interview with another elderly lady who will receive the vaccine today, very upset after she lost her husband from COVID-19 earlier in the year.
Britain has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot. As each person requires two doses, that is enough to vaccinate 20 million people in the country of 67 million.
About 800,000 doses are expected to be available within the first week, with care home residents and carers, the over 80s and some health service workers the top priority to get them.
