Margaret Keenan, “proud” to have been the first vaccinated against the coronavirus in the West

A 91-year-old British woman, who in December became the first person from a Western country to receive an approved vaccine against coronavirus for its massive use, affirmed this week his pride of “having put the ball in play”.

Smiling before the cameras, Margaret Keenan received the injection of the vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, first approved in the UK, on December 8, 2020, nearly a week after it was given the green light in the nation.

The image of the old woman with her face covered by a mask and a blue T-shirt with a penguin appeared in the media around the world.

In a video conference this week with Simon Stevens, director general of the British National Health Service, the NHS, this grandmother of four grandchildren encouraged the reluctant to get vaccinated.

“I tell everyone to go because it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I hope everyone shows up“He stated, assuring those who fear injections that”you feel nothing at all”.

“I am very proud to have done it, to have been the first and to have put the ball in play”, He added Keenan.

Margaret Keenan (center), 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first person to receive the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine at Coventry University Hospital in central England on 8 December 2020.

Go on vacation

After receiving your second dose, “Maggie“He confesses that now he really wants to”going on vacation”.

The nonagenarian, a jewelry owner who retired just four years ago, praised NHS doctors and nurses for their involvement in the vaccination campaign.

“It’s amazing what they have done”Said the old woman, who lives in Coventry, in central England.

The UK, the country with the highest number of fatalities in Europe from the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 127,000, has carried out its vaccination campaign at breakneck speed.

The government already fulfilled in mid-April its main objective of offering a first dose to all those over 50 years of age, the most vulnerable patients, health personnel and other caregivers.

Now it is proposed to have offered at least one dose to all adults by the end of July.

Over 43.9 million vaccines have already been administered in the UK (from Pfizer / BioNTech, AstraZeneca / Oxford and Moderna) and one in five adults has already received the required two doses.

In shifts of regressive age, the NHS invites all residents by letter and text message to make an appointment to be vaccinated in the more than 1,600 authorized facilities, among which are cathedrals, mosques and other temples, but also museums, cinemas or stadiums.