Nurse Becomes First Person at NI to Receive Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine

A NURSE HAS BECOME the first person on the island of Ireland to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine this morning.

The first dose was administered at approximately 8 am at a mass vaccination center at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

The first person to receive the vaccine in Northern Ireland was a 28-year-old nurse from Dundrum in Co Down.

Joanna Sloan is the sister in charge of Covid vaccination for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, the largest in Northern Ireland.

She is a former emergency department nurse and has been in her occupation for six years.

She is engaged, but her wedding was postponed due to the pandemic. He has a five year old daughter.

Stormont Health Minister Robin Swann said: “Let’s not underestimate the importance of today and what we are seeing with the start of our vaccination program.”

He told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster: “It’s a game changer, it’s a great day. It’s the day we’ve been waiting for a long time. “

He said it should be greeted with optimism but moderate with caution.

“This is the beginning of a long road to recovery, but we are in the first step.”

This morning, 90-year-old grandmother Margaret Keenan became the first person to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in the UK.

She said: “I feel very privileged to be the first person to be vaccinated against Covid-19, it is the best anticipated birthday gift I could wish for because it means that I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being alone. for most of the year. “

Stocks of the coronavirus vaccine arrived in Northern Ireland on Friday after passing through Dublin Port.

There are 25,000 doses in the initial batch of the vaccine.

The UK formally approved the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine last Wednesday, with 40 million doses of the vaccine already purchased.

With reporting by Orla Dwyer.