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A 90-year-old woman from the United Kingdom has become the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine which was produced by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Margaret Keenan was the first to receive her vaccine at 6:31 a.m. local time after the drug received emergency authorization.
“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,” she told the Associated Press.
She called it a privilege to be the first person to receive the vaccine.
The first 800,000 doses of the vaccine have been allocated to people over 80 who have been hospitalized due to COVID-19, along with workers at nursing homes. A wider rollout will be expected in the coming weeks.
The vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is still being reviewed in the United States and other countries across Europe.
90-year-old Maggie Keenan is the 1st person to be given the coronavirus vaccine in the UK.
She was given the jab by matron May Parsons in Coventry – part of the largest ever vaccination roll-out in the history of the NHS.
More on #BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/RbxvafRVH4— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) December 8, 2020
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 14.8 million confirmed cases and 282,000 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
