Viviana Garcia
EFE | THE COUNTRY | London
A 90-year-old woman and a Filipino nurse have been the protagonists this Tuesday of the so-called “V” day, the beginning of immunization against covid-19 in the United Kingdom with the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Margaret Keenan, who will turn 91 next week, is the first person in the UK and the world to receive this vaccine approved last week by British regulators.
Great medical care
With a serene face and surprised by the great media attention, this mother of two children and grandmother of four children, originally from the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen, received the injection from May Parsons, a Filipino nurse with more than 20 years of experience in British Healthcare (NHS).
In the midst of the flashes of the photographers, Keenan or “Maggie”, as her friends call her, received the first of the two doses that make up this vaccine around 06.31 GMT at the University Hospital of Coventry, central England.
“I feel so privileged to be the first person to be vaccinated against covid-19. It’s the best birthday present, early on, and because it means that I will finally be able to spend time with my family and friends on New Years after having practically been alone all year long, “Keenan told the media.
The woman thanked the National Health Service (NHS, for its acronym in English) for the way they have cared for her and advised people to accept the vaccine if it is offered by health.
“If I can receive it at the age of 90, then you can too,” said this Northern Irish woman, encouraging the population.
Meanwhile, Parsons admitted she was honored to be the first nurse to deliver the dose, adding that she is pleased to contribute on this “historic day,” given that “the past few months have been tough for all of us who work in the NHS.”
50 hospitals start immunization
Immunizations have started in fifty large hospitals in the four regions that make up the United Kingdom -England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland-, in what the Government has called “V-Day” (day of the V or the vaccination).
These hospitals are prepared for the difficult logistics, since this vaccine requires a cold level of 70 degrees below zero.
The first doses are intended for those over 80 and employees of the health sector and nursing homes, although the residents themselves will have to wait for logistics to allow the transfer to the place of the vaccine in the coming days.
Tracing
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson went to Guy’s Hospital in London this morning to closely follow the start of this immunization program and encouraged the population not to be afraid of the vaccine that has already been approved by regulators.
In statements to the media, Johnson, who was hospitalized for covid-19 in April, asked “not to be afraid” because “there is nothing to be nervous about.”
“It is safe and it is the right thing to do. (The vaccine) is safe and it is good for you and for the whole country,” he added.
“Thank you to our NHS (Public Health), to all the scientists who worked so hard to develop this vaccine, to all the volunteers,” Johnson tweeted upon learning of Keenan’s vaccination.
Despite the start of this program, Johnson asked people to comply with restrictive measures to control the spread of covid-19 since the vaccination program takes several months until it can be completed.
Effectiveness
According to regulators, the vaccine will be effective seven days after a person receives the second dose, although there is some protection 12 days after the first.
The United Kingdom has committed 40 million doses, which will allow to vaccinate 20 million people, but it is expected that regulators will soon also give their approval to the vaccine from the University of Oxford and the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
The latter, according to health authorities, will be easier to store since it only requires a cold of about two degrees Celsius. The Government has committed 100 of these vaccines, which will help to immunize a large part of the population.
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