A grandmother from Enniskillen has become the first patient in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine following its clinical approval.
Margaret Keenan, known to family and friends as Maggie, received the jab at 6.31am from nurse May Parsons at her local hospital in Coventry, England.
Originally from Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, she has lived in Coventry for more than 60 years. She has a daughter, a son and four grandchildren.
Mrs Keenan, who turns 91 next week, is a former jewellery shop assistant who only retired four years ago.
She said: “I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19, it’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.
“I can’t thank May and the NHS staff enough who have looked after me tremendously, and my advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it – if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too.”
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens praised all those involved in delivering the new vaccine programme.
“Less than a year after the first case of this new disease was diagnosed, the NHS has now delivered the first clinically approved Covid-19 vaccination – that is a remarkable achievement,” Sir Simon said.
“A heartfelt thank you goes to everyone who has made this a reality – the scientists and doctors who worked tirelessly, and the volunteers who selflessly took part in the trials. They have achieved in months what normally takes years.
“My colleagues across the health service are rightly proud of this historic moment as we lead in deploying the PfizerBioNTech vaccine.
“I also want to thank Margaret, our first patient to receive the vaccine on the NHS.
“Today is just the first step in the largest vaccination programme this country has ever seen. It will take some months to complete the work as more vaccine supplies become available and until then we must not drop our guard. But if we all stay vigilant in the weeks and months ahead, we will be able to look back at this as a decisive turning point in the battle against the virus.”
Like many, Mrs Keenan has been self-isolating for most of this year and is planning on having a very small family “bubble” Christmas to keep safe.
She will receive a booster jab in 21 days to ensure she has the best chance of being protected against the virus.
'Honour'
NHS nurse May Parsons said it was a “huge honour” to be the first in the UK to deliver the vaccine to a patient.
Speaking at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, she said: “It’s a huge honour to be the first person in the country to deliver a Covid-19 jab to a patient, I’m just glad that I’m able to play a part in this historic day.
“The last few months have been tough for all of us working in the NHS, but now it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Mrs Parsons, originally from the Philippines, has worked in the NHS for the last 24 years and been at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire since 2003.
The UK's phased vaccination programme will see patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, among the first to receive the life-saving jab.
The life-saving vaccine is typically delivered by a simple injection in the shoulder but there is a complex logistical challenge to deliver from the manufacturers to patients. It needs to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius before being thawed out and can only be moved four times within that cold chain ahead of use.
