LONDON – Margaret Keenan, 90, became the first person in the world to receive a clinically approved vaccine, 4,334 days after the first report of Kovid-1 death in China at 3:31 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
It was a pivotal moment in the global fight against the most devastating epidemic in 100 years. To allow and deliver the bayonet tech-Pfizer vaccine, Britain has created a route that will likely be followed by the United States and Europe in the coming weeks.
“I am privileged to be the first person to be vaccinated against Covid-1,” said Keane, who was vaccinated at Coventry University Hospital in north-west London.
“I wish it’s an early birthday present,” Char’s grandmother, 91, told reporters next week. “It means I can finally look forward to spending most of the years in the new year with my own family and friends.”
She added: “My advice to anyone vaccinating is to take it – if I’m in the 90’s you can take it too.”
For many, the shots inflicted on Britain’s shoulder muscles will boost the much-needed morale at the end of a hellish year globally – which has seen 1.5 million people killed, 65 million sick, and suffering numerous economic hardships. .
Putting symbolism aside, the reality is that U.S. And even in rich countries like the United Kingdom there is a huge logistical challenge to try to vaccinate priority groups – let alone everyone else.
“This seems like the beginning of the end,” Professor Stephen Powis, the national medical director of the National Health Service, said Sunday before the rollout. “But, of course, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and it will take many months to vaccinate everyone who needs to be vaccinated.”
Sir Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, added: “Less than a year after the first case of this new disease was diagnosed, the NHSA has now given the clinically recognized Covid-19 vaccine – a significant achievement.”
Americans will probably not be far behind, with the Food and Drug Administration expecting to meet in a matter of days to discuss Bioentech-Pfizer’s application for authorization of emergency use. Next week, the FDA will meet to rule on a second vaccine made by Moderna.
The Chinese and Russian governments have given emergency approval to many of their vaccines. But all of this is still going through Phase 3 tests or a lack of publicly released data.
In Britain, with its population of 67 million, the rollout marks the beginning of the largest and most challenging vaccination program in the history of the publicly funded National Health Service.
He has bought 40 million doses. But the first batch given from a Belgian Pfizer plant contains about 800,000 – 400,000 people enough to take two doses each.
It needs to be kept at supercold temperatures and with extreme care, so its rollout will be limited to 50 hospital “hubs” where there are specialist storage devices.
Anyone over the age of 800 is already in the hospital. Nursing home staff and some front line health care workers will also be able to get jobs, although who makes the initial cut has already started a heated debate over what has often become a vague and seemingly cumbersome process.
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Kinnan, known to friends as “Maggie”, is a retired jewelry store worker who has lived in Coventry for 60 years and grew up in Eniskelen, Northern Ireland. Like many seniors she has been apart for most of this year.
She was given the shot by a nurse named May Parsons, who has worked for the NHS for 24 years and is originally from the Philippines.
Referring to the injection, Parasan said, “It is a great honor to be the first person in the country to deliver a Covid-19 pocket patient.” “I’m glad I was able to play a part in this historic day.”
The impulse of national politics has also made it impossible to understand what a global fight should be. Critics have accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government of trying to negotiate a Brexit deal by announcing its world-first vaccine to promote nationalist or Zionist politics.
Education Secretary Gavin Williams said last week that Britain’s rapid vaccine approval showed the UK was “a much better country” than the UK, France and Belgium. And Health Secretary Matt Hancock called Tuesday “V-Day” – short for Vaccine Day, but also referred to “VE Day” as a sign of the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Some experts worry that the news will create cheers among the people, creating an already harsh winter of sanctions, economic pain and a terrible routine of daily death.
Mukesh Kapila, a former adviser to the director general of the World Health Organization, said no one could underestimate the importance of the hope that this rollout would occur. “But that doesn’t mean we can stop lockdown sanctions immediately at any time.”
Meanwhile, Covid-19 is killing more people than ever before – the U.S. averaged 1,826 daily deaths last week, one every 45 seconds. Cases in Europe have slowed following widespread lockdown sanctions, but places such as the United Kingdom and Spain have the highest per capita deaths in the world.
This vaccine will do nothing for the bereaved relatives of the dead. It will not comfort business owners whose companies have already collapsed. And it will not pay for the lost wages of unemployed workers, or ease the hardships endured by many.
The supply will be tight. Federal officials plan to send 6.4 million doses within 24 hours of FDA authorization and 40 million doses by the end of the year. Most of these include 21 million health care workers and U.S. In will go to 3 million nursing home staff
But the 0.3 ml of fluid in this syringe is not just a groundbreaking modern medicine, but also a line of hope in an utterly futile year.
