V-Day heroine Margaret Keenan, 91, who became first patient in the world to have Pfizer Covid jab returns to hospital to receive second dose of the vaccine
- First patients to receive Pfizer’s Covid vaccine will receive second jab this week
- Margaret Keenan was the first to receive the jab, a week before she turned 91
- Around 800,000 people have received a jab since rollout began on December 8
V-Day heroine Margaret Keenan has returned to hospital to receive her second dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine after becoming the first person int he world to receive the jab.
The grandmother-of-four, from Coventry, was first in line for the vaccine when a mass roll-out began in Britain on December 8.
A week after receiving the vaccine, Ms Keenan turned 91 and encouraged others to take part, saying: ‘I would urge everybody to get their vaccine as and when they are asked to do so.’
Since then around 800,000 people have received their first dose of the vaccine, with NHS England now expecting pensioners and health care workers back for their second jab.
Margaret Keenan, 91, has returned to hospital today after she was the first person in the world to receive Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. She will receive a booster jab to help protect her from the virus
Speaking after having the first jab, Margaret – known as Maggie – said: ‘Hopefully it’ll help other people come along and do what I did, and try and do the best to get rid of this terrible thing.’
Mother-of-two Mrs Keenan added: ‘I say go for it, because it’s free and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened.
‘If I can do it; well, so can you,’ she said.
Three weeks after Ms Keenan received the jab, around 800,000 people are thought to have been vaccinated. The Coventry grandmother has urged others to receive the treatment
The most recent figures published by the Department of Health showed that the number of people to have had their first jab between 8 December and 20 December in the UK was 616,933.
But speaking on Christmas Eve, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said almost 800,000 people had been given their first dose of the two-stage vaccine.
Since the initial jabs were given in hospitals, the rollout has widened to GP-led sites and care homes.
The first people to receive the jabs are now returning for a ‘booster jab,’ according to NHS England, to ensure they ‘have the best chance of being protected against the virus’.
In a statement released through NHS England earlier this month, Ms Keenan, said: ‘It has all been such a whirlwind and everything hasn’t really sunk in yet. I feel great and I’m so pleased to be able to go home and to spend some quality time with my family.
‘I would like to say thank you to the hospital and its staff for the care and support shown to me during my stay – they have been truly amazing.
‘My family and I are so grateful for the positive comments and well wishes received. I would urge everybody to get their vaccine as and when they are asked to do so.’
Mrs Keenan was one of about 100 people vaccinated on the first day of the rollout at Coventry.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock sobbed on live television as the vaccine scheme began.
He told Good Morning Britain: ‘I’m feeling quite emotional, actually, watching those pictures.
‘It has been such a tough year for so many people and finally we have our way through it – our light at the end of the tunnel as so many people are saying.’
A Welsh Government spokesman said people in Wales would begin receiving their second dose of the vaccine from January 5.