Meet the first two people in the world to get Pfizer’s COVID vaccine. ‘So privileged’

A 90-year-old grandmother and an 81-year-old man in the United Kingdom received the first Pfizer-developed COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday.

Margaret Keenan, 90, was first in line at University Hospital Coventry in London, according to The Associated Press. Donning a festive sweater featuring a penguin in a Santa hat, Keenan received applause from hospital staff after receiving her shot, photos show.

“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19,” Keenan said, according to NPR. “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.”

William Shakespeare, 81, who shares the namesake of the famed playwright, became the second person to receive the vaccine. He said he was “pleased” to receive the shot, according to the BBC.

Last week, Pfizer announced a “historic moment in the fight against COVID-19” when it received authorization to administer the vaccine in the United Kingdom.

Thousands of people received the vaccine during clinical trials, after which Pfizer reported an efficacy rate of 95%. But Tuesday marked the start of vaccinations outside of trials.

About 50 hospitals in the United Kingdom on Tuesday started to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, the BBC reported.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration could issue emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the week.

For Keenan and Shakespeare, the vaccine marked a turning point.

Keenan, a former jewelry shop assistant who has four grandchildren, has quarantined for most of 2020, according to The Washington Post.

“My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it ­— if I can have it at 90, then you can have it too,” Keenan said, the Post reported.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told “Good Morning Britain” host Piers Morgan he was “quite emotional” watching Shakespeare receive the vaccine.

“It’s been such a tough year for so many people — and there’s William Shakespeare putting it so simply for everybody, that we can get on with our lives,” Hancock said, The Independent reported.

There have been more than 1.74 million coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom, the seventh-most in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The country received 800,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, The Associated Press reported.

“This really feels like the beginning of the end,″ Stephen Powis, medical director for the National Health Service in England, told The AP. “It’s been really dreadful year, 2020 — all those things that we are so used to, meeting friends and family, going to the cinema, have been disrupted. We can get those back. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month. But in the months to come.″

This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 7:57 AM with the headline "Meet the first two people in the world to get Pfizer’s COVID vaccine. ‘So privileged’."