{"id":11256,"date":"2020-12-08T23:41:39","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T07:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11256"},"modified":"2020-12-09T05:48:26","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T13:48:26","slug":"post-1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11256","title":{"rendered":"“UK starts virus campaign with a shot watched round the world”, Associated Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Danica Kirka, London, December 8, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

LONDON (AP) \u2014 A nurse rolled up 90-year-old Margaret Keenan\u2019s sleeve and administered a shot watched round the world -\u2013 the first jab in the U.K.\u2019s COVID-19 vaccination program kicking off an unprecedented global effort to try to end a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million people.<\/p>\n

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90 year old Margaret Keenan, the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, administered by nurse May Parsons at University Hospital, Coventry, England, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020. The United Kingdom, one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, is beginning its vaccination campaign, a key step toward eventually ending the pandemic. (Jacob King\/Pool via AP)<\/span><\/div>\n
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Keenan, a retired shop clerk from Northern Ireland who celebrates her birthday next week, was at the front of the line at University Hospital Coventry to receive the vaccine that was approved by British regulators last week.<\/p>\n

The U.K. is the first Western country to deliver a broadly tested and independently reviewed vaccine to the general public. The COVID-19 shot was developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany\u2019s BioNTech. U.S. and European Union regulators may approve it in the coming days or weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll done?\u201d Keenan asked nurse May Parsons. \u201cAll done,\u201d came the reply, as hospital staff broke into applause and also clapped for her as she was wheeled down a corridor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19,\u201d said Keenan, who wore a surgical mask and a blue \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d T-shirt with a cartoon penguin in a Santa hat. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second injection, in a fitting bit of drama, went to an 81-year-old man named William Shakespeare from Warwickshire, the county where the bard was born.<\/p>\n

The fanfare was good cheer to the nation, if but for a moment. Authorities warned that the vaccination campaign would take many months, meaning painful restrictions that have disrupted daily life and punished the economy are likely to continue until spring. The U.K. has seen over 61,000 deaths in the pandemic \u2014 more than any other country in Europe \u2014 and has recorded more than 1.7 million confirmed cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis really feels like the beginning of the end,\u2033 said Stephen Powis, medical director for the National Health Service in England. \u201cIt\u2019s been a really dreadful year, 2020 \u2014 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.\u2033<\/p>\n

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC<\/div>\n
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  • \u2013 ‘New start:’ Medics juggle surgery backlogs and virus fight<\/a><\/li>\n
  • \u2013 Trump hails vaccine ‘miracle,’ with millions of doses soon<\/a><\/li>\n
  • \u2013 Should I wipe down groceries during the pandemic?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    But it is important beyond these shores. Britain\u2019s program is likely to provide lessons for other countries as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions.<\/p>\n

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    On Saturday, Russia began vaccinations with its Sputnik V vaccine, and China has also begun giving its own domestically made shots to its citizens and selling them abroad. But those are being viewed differently because neither countries\u2019 vaccines have finished the late-stage trials scientists consider essential for proving a serum is safe and effective.<\/p>\n

    Other vaccines are also being reviewed by regulators around the world, including a collaboration between Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca and one developed by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna.<\/p>\n

    Documents released by U.S. regulators Tuesday<\/a> confirmed that Pfizer\u2019s vaccine was strongly protective against COVID-19 and appeared safe. New results on a possible vaccine from Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca suggest it is safe and about 70% effective, according to early test results from Britain and Brazil. But that report, in the medical journal Lancet, showed that questions remain about how well it helps protect those over 55.<\/p>\n