The fight against COVID-19 has taken a historic step on Tuesday (December 8), with the U.K. rolling out the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
The first recipient, a 90-year-old grandmother, Margaret Keenan, received the shot at University Hospital Coventry at 6:31 a.m.
Margaret, who truns 91 next week, said she felt “so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19.”
“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 said.
The vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, was granted emergency approval by the British government just last week and will be given to front-line health workers, long-term care facility workers and residents over 80 years old in the U.K. first. Shots will be made available first at hospitals before being distributed to doctor’s offices.
“It will take some months to complete the work as more vaccine supplies become available and until then we must not drop our guard,” National Health Service England’s chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said. “But if we all stay vigilant in the weeks and months ahead, we will be able to look back at this as a decisive turning point in the battle against the virus.”
In the U.S., both Pfizer and Moderna have applied for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.
In a report released Tuesday morning, the FDA indicated that it could greenlight the country’s first Covid-19 inoculation within days.
Officials from both companies have noted that there are side effects from the vaccine – the effects can lay people up for a day or so. The FDA said that while side effects are common, there are “no specific safety concerns identified that would preclude issuance of an EUA.”
Per CNBC, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that about 40 million doses of vaccine will available by the end of this year. However, both Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines require two doses administered a month apart – which is enough for 20 million people.
According to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices reports, there are roughly 21 million health-care workers and 3 million long-term care facility residents in the United States. The committee’s director, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, said most states and local jurisdictions expect it will take three weeks to vaccinate all of their health-care workers.
One participant in the Pfizer trials shared his experience of getting the two doses of the vaccine.
“You have to keep in mind, I joined the trial when we didn’t know it was going to be a safe vaccine,” said Yasir Batalvi told CNBC.
His first injection, which he got in mid-October, felt just like a flu shot.
“I experienced stiffness and pain in my left arm where I had gotten the shot, but it was mild,” he explained. “By that evening, I didn’t want to move my arm above my shoulder, but it was localized, and it disappeared by the next day.”
However, he experienced worse side-effects after the second shot.
“After the injection, I had the same side effects as the first: localized pain and stiffness, but it was a little bit worse. My arm got sore faster, and by the time I got home, I started feeling fatigued and like anyone would feel if they were coming down with the flu,” Yasir said.
He also shared that he experienced more significant symptoms in the evening. “I developed a low-grade fever and had chills,” he said. “That evening was rough.”
