Updated: December 8, 2020 7:57:28 pm
Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first UK patient to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, administered by nurse May Parsons at Coventry University Hospital, England. (Jacob King / Pool via AP)
The UK health authorities have launched the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine, beginning a world immunization program expected to gain momentum as more serums gain approval.
the first shot It occurred on Tuesday at one of a network of hospitals across the country, where the initial phase of the UK program will be implemented in what has been dubbed “V-Day.”
The first recipient was Grandmother Margaret Keenan, who will turn 91 next week. He received the vaccine at Coventry University Hospital at 6:31 a.m. M.
Keenan says she feels “very privileged to be the first person to be vaccinated against Covid-19.”
Watch video
Public health officials are asking the public to be patient because only those who are at higher risk for COVID-19 you will get vaccinated in the early stages. Patients will be contacted by medical staff to make appointments, and most will have to wait until next year before there are enough vaccinations to expand the program.
“I think there is a good chance that we will look back on … (Tuesday) as a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus,” said Simon Stevens, executive director of England’s National Health Service.
Read also: 87-year-old man of Indian origin, the first to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the UK
The first 800,000 doses go to people over the age of 80 who are hospitalized or already scheduled outpatient appointments, along with nursing home workers. Others will have to wait their turn.
Among the older Britons scheduled to get vaccinated is Hari Shukla of Newcastle.
Both sides of a registration card are shown, to be given to all recipients of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, at Croydon University Hospital (Gareth Fuller / Pool via AP)
“When I got the phone call, I was very excited to have the opportunity to join and participate in it,? he said. “So we are very happy, happy and excited as well.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on reports that 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth II and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, would be vaccinated as a public example of their safety.
“Our aim is to fully protect all members of the population, Your Majesty, of course, as well,” Dr June Raine, executive director of Britain’s Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency, told the BBC.
Public health officials elsewhere are watching Britain’s rollout as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions of people to end a pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million. While the UK has a well-developed infrastructure for the delivery of vaccines, it is geared towards delivering them to groups such as school-age children or pregnant women, not the entire population.
A flower arrangement spelling out ‘I love NHS’ (the National Health Service) is on display outside St Thomas’ Hospital, with the Houses of Parliament in the background on the right, in London, which from this week will be one of the centers to vaccinate people in Britain against the coronavirus. (AP Photo / Matt Dunham)
The UK is making headway on the project after British regulators on December 2 granted an emergency authorization to the vaccine produced by US drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Authorities in the US and the European Union are also reviewing the vaccine, along with rival products developed by American biotech company Moderna, and a collaboration between Oxford University and pharmacist AstraZeneca.
On Saturday, Russia began vaccinating thousands of doctors, teachers and others at dozens of centers in Moscow with its Sputnik V vaccine. That program looks different because Russia authorized the use of Sputnik V last summer after it was released. tested on only a few dozen people.
Read also: The Kremlin offers Russians free vaccines, but will they accept them?
The first shipments of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine they were delivered to a selected group of UK hospitals on Sunday.
At one such facility, Croydon University Hospital, south London, staff members couldn’t even touch the vials, but were delighted to have them in the building.
“I’m very proud,” said Louise Coughlan, deputy chief pharmacist for Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.
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 in Coventry, England, Tuesday, December 8, 2020 (Jacob King / Pool via AP)
The vaccine may not arrive soon enough for the UK, which has more than 61,000 COVID-19-related deaths, more than any other country in Europe has reported. The UK has more than 1.7 million cases.
The 800,000 doses are only a fraction of what is needed. The government is targeting more than 25 million people, or about 40% of the population, in the first phase of its vaccination program, which prioritizes those who are most at risk of contracting the disease.
Editorial: The UK’s sanction of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine marks the triumph of a novel approach.
After the 80+ and nursing home workers, the program will expand as supply increases, and the vaccine will be offered roughly by age group, starting with the oldest.
Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, at University Hospital in Coventry, England, on Tuesday December 8, 2020. The United Kingdom, one of the countries most affected by the coronavirus, is starting its vaccination campaign, a key step to end the pandemic. (Jacob King / Pool via AP)
In England, the vaccine will be delivered to 50 hospitals in the first wave of the program, with more hospitals expected to offer it as rollout progresses. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are making their own plans under the UK’s decentralized administration system.
Logistical problems are slowing down the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine because it must be stored at minus -70 degrees Celsius (minus -94 degrees Fahrenheit).
The immunization program will be “a marathon, not a sprint,” said Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England medical director.
Authorities are also targeting large-scale distribution points because each vaccine package contains 975 doses and they don’t want it to go to waste.
An expert explains: Is the lockdown the answer to a second wave of Covid-19?
The UK has agreed to buy millions of doses from seven different producers. Governments around the world are making agreements with various developers to ensure they ensure delivery of products that are ultimately approved for widespread use.
.
