A 90-year-old English grandmother became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday.
The Pfizer vaccine was approved for use in the U.K. last week, and the National Health Service (NHS) has begun to roll out a mass immunization program. As a result, Margaret "Maggie" Keenan received the historic shot from nurse May Parsons at 6:31 a.m. in Coventry, England.
Keenan, a jewelry shop assistant and grandmother of four, will be celebrating her 91st birthday next week. She said that the vaccination was "the best early birthday present I could wish for."
Keenan donned a "Merry Christmas" charity sweater with a festive-looking penguin adorning the front to receive the jab.
The grandmother had been self-isolating for most of 2020. She said, "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."
Nurse Parsons has been working for the NHS for 24 years. "I'm just glad that I'm able to play a part in this historic day," she said. "The last few moths have been tough for all of us working in the NHS, but now it feels like there is a light at the end of the tunnel."