A 90-year-old woman has made history by becoming the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Margaret Keenan was given the injection at 6:31 GMT today, marking the start of the UK's mass vaccination program, which will see 80,000 doses of the vaccine being administered over the coming weeks, the BBC reports.
One million people are expected to have been vaccinated in the UK by the end of the month.
Kennan, who turns 91 next week, described the vaccine as the "best early birthday present".
Watch a full news report about Kennan's vaccination below:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWAly3INavM]]
Healthcare workers and the elderly will be among the first to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the UK.
The 90-year-old was vaccinated by Matron May Parsons at University Hospital in Coventry, England.
Keenan, who is originally from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, said: "I feel 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."
"I can't thank May and the NHS staff enough who have looked after me tremendously, and my advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it - if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too," she added.
Sister Joanna Sloan received the first dose of the vaccine in Northern Ireland just after 08:00 GMT at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast there was a "long march ahead of us but this marks the way out".
He said he felt "conflicted emotions" as Keenan received the vaccination, explaining that while he was "thrilled and delighted" that the first person had been vaccinated, he was also "really determined that as a country we've got to stick together".
"This virus is deadly. We've got to stick by the rules," he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked the NHS and "all of the scientists who worked so hard to develop this vaccine", the volunteers, and "everyone who has been following the rules to protect others".
"We will beat this together," he added.
Vaccination against Covid-19 is not currently compulsory in the UK.
