[ad_1]
LONDON: An 87-year-old man and his 83-year-old wife from northeast England became the world’s first Indian-origin couple to receive a Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, after being injected with their first of two doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech prick in a Newcastle hospital.
Dr Hari Shukla, a Tyne and Wear-based race relations activist, had been contacted by the National Health Service (NHS) based on the criteria set out for the world’s first vaccine to receive regulatory approvals in the UK. last week.
His wife, Ranjan, later volunteered for the jab, as she also belongs to the first phase of people aged 80 and over, nursing home workers, and high-risk NHS workers eligible to receive the “saving jab. lives “.
“Hari Shukla and his wife Ranjan have become the first two Newcastle Hospital patients, and two of the world’s first people, to receive the Covid-19 vaccine,” said the Newcastle Trust Hospitals NHS Foundation.
They join Margaret “Maggie” Keenan, 90 from Coventry, as the first in the world to receive her injection, followed by 81-year-old William Shakespeare in Warwickshire as the second.
“I am very happy that hopefully we are reaching the end of this pandemic and I am delighted to do my bit by receiving the vaccine, I feel it is my duty to do so and do everything I can to help,” said Shukla. , who was born in Kenya and whose father was a native of Mumbai.
“Having been in contact with the NHS [National Health Service]”I know how hard they work and the utmost respect for them. They have a heart of gold and I am grateful for all they have done to keep us safe during the pandemic,” he said.
Shukla, who has been honored with an MBE, OBE and CBE for his work as Director of the Tyne and Wear Race Equality Council over the years, was notified by the NHS based on criteria established by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization of the United Kingdom. as part of a gradual implementation plan based on those most at risk of death from the deadly virus.
“Today marks a big step forward in the UK’s fight against coronavirus as we started delivering the vaccine to the first patients across the country. I am immensely proud of the scientists who developed the vaccine, members of the public who participated in rehearsals – and the NHS who has worked tirelessly to prepare for the launch, ”said British Prime Minister Prime Minister Johnson.
However, he made a note of caution to warn that mass vaccination will take time and urged the public to remain “lucid” and continue to follow the lockdown rules during the coming winter months.
The NHS said it is running the largest and most highly anticipated immunization campaign in history at 50 hospital centers, with more initial vaccinations in the coming weeks and months as the program escalates after the first set of doses arrived. from Pfizer’s manufacturing site in Belgium.
“We will look back on today, V-day, as a key moment in our fight against this terrible disease, and I am proud that our health services across the UK are about to embark on our further vaccination program. big so far, “said Health Secretary Matt Hancock, whose eyes filled with tears during television interviews Tuesday when he declared he was” proud to be British. ”
Since the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine received the green light from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) last week, the NHS said its workers have been working around the clock to manage the large-scale logistical challenge. to implement the vaccine.
“Coronavirus is the greatest health challenge in the history of the NHS, it takes away our loved ones and disrupts every part of our lives,” said Sir Simon Stevens, Executive Director of the NHS.
“The deployment of this vaccine marks a decisive turning point in the battle against the pandemic. The NHS vaccination programs that have successfully helped overcome tuberculosis, polio and smallpox are now turning their attention to the coronavirus. NHS staff are proud to lead the way as the world’s first health service to begin vaccination with this Covid jab, “he said.
The MHRA has emphasized that the vaccine has been approved for mass release only after “rigorous” safety testing even though the process was accelerated due to the urgency of finding an effective vaccine against a pandemic that has wreaked havoc throughout the world. world.
NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis has warned that launching a vaccine will be a “marathon”, not a race.
Pfizer vaccine must be stored at -70 ° C before thawing and can only be moved four times within that cold chain before use. General practitioners (GPs) and other primary care personnel have also been put on hold to begin delivering the jab in phases.
Vaccination centers treating large numbers of patients in sports venues and conference centers will be launched later when more vaccine supplies come online, with most of the rollout expected in the early part of the new year.
[ad_2]
Dr Hari Shukla, a Tyne and Wear-based race relations activist, had been contacted by the National Health Service (NHS) based on the criteria set out for the world’s first vaccine to receive regulatory approvals in the UK. last week.
His wife, Ranjan, later volunteered for the jab, as she also belongs to the first phase of people aged 80 and over, nursing home workers, and high-risk NHS workers eligible to receive the “saving jab. lives “.
“Hari Shukla and his wife Ranjan have become the first two Newcastle Hospital patients, and two of the world’s first people, to receive the Covid-19 vaccine,” said the Newcastle Trust Hospitals NHS Foundation.
They join Margaret “Maggie” Keenan, 90 from Coventry, as the first in the world to receive her injection, followed by 81-year-old William Shakespeare in Warwickshire as the second.
“I am very happy that hopefully we are reaching the end of this pandemic and I am delighted to do my bit by receiving the vaccine, I feel it is my duty to do so and do everything I can to help,” said Shukla. , who was born in Kenya and whose father was a native of Mumbai.
“Having been in contact with the NHS [National Health Service]”I know how hard they work and the utmost respect for them. They have a heart of gold and I am grateful for all they have done to keep us safe during the pandemic,” he said.
Shukla, who has been honored with an MBE, OBE and CBE for his work as Director of the Tyne and Wear Race Equality Council over the years, was notified by the NHS based on criteria established by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization of the United Kingdom. as part of a gradual implementation plan based on those most at risk of death from the deadly virus.
“Today marks a big step forward in the UK’s fight against coronavirus as we started delivering the vaccine to the first patients across the country. I am immensely proud of the scientists who developed the vaccine, members of the public who participated in rehearsals – and the NHS who has worked tirelessly to prepare for the launch, ”said British Prime Minister Prime Minister Johnson.
However, he made a note of caution to warn that mass vaccination will take time and urged the public to remain “lucid” and continue to follow the lockdown rules during the coming winter months.
The NHS said it is running the largest and most highly anticipated immunization campaign in history at 50 hospital centers, with more initial vaccinations in the coming weeks and months as the program escalates after the first set of doses arrived. from Pfizer’s manufacturing site in Belgium.
“We will look back on today, V-day, as a key moment in our fight against this terrible disease, and I am proud that our health services across the UK are about to embark on our further vaccination program. big so far, “said Health Secretary Matt Hancock, whose eyes filled with tears during television interviews Tuesday when he declared he was” proud to be British. ”
Since the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine received the green light from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) last week, the NHS said its workers have been working around the clock to manage the large-scale logistical challenge. to implement the vaccine.
“Coronavirus is the greatest health challenge in the history of the NHS, it takes away our loved ones and disrupts every part of our lives,” said Sir Simon Stevens, Executive Director of the NHS.
“The deployment of this vaccine marks a decisive turning point in the battle against the pandemic. The NHS vaccination programs that have successfully helped overcome tuberculosis, polio and smallpox are now turning their attention to the coronavirus. NHS staff are proud to lead the way as the world’s first health service to begin vaccination with this Covid jab, “he said.
The MHRA has emphasized that the vaccine has been approved for mass release only after “rigorous” safety testing even though the process was accelerated due to the urgency of finding an effective vaccine against a pandemic that has wreaked havoc throughout the world. world.
NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis has warned that launching a vaccine will be a “marathon”, not a race.
Pfizer vaccine must be stored at -70 ° C before thawing and can only be moved four times within that cold chain before use. General practitioners (GPs) and other primary care personnel have also been put on hold to begin delivering the jab in phases.
Vaccination centers treating large numbers of patients in sports venues and conference centers will be launched later when more vaccine supplies come online, with most of the rollout expected in the early part of the new year.
