Largest immunisation drive began in the United Kingdom yesterday. British Indian couple in their 80s became one of the first few people to receive Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
Hari Shukla, an 87-year-old who is a doctor and his 83-year-old wife, Ranjan Shukla, from the northeast of England became the first Indian-origin couple in the world to get the Covid shot after they were vaccinated at a hospital in Newcastle.
The National Health Service (NHS) contacted Hari Shukla, a race relations campaigner, based in England's Tyne and Wear county. The couple was reached based on the criteria fixed for the world's first vaccine to receive regulatory approvals in the UK last week.
Before the couple, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan and 81-year-old William Shakespeare were the first to take the vaccine dose.
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where the couple received the vaccine shot said, "Hari Shukla and his wife Ranjan have become the first two patients at Newcastle Hospitals - and two of the first people in the world - to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Mr Shukla said that he’s hopeful of the pandemic coming to an end and felt he must take the vaccine and do whatever he can to help people.
He added, "Having been in contact with the NHS, I know how hard they all work and the greatest respect for them - they have a heart of gold and I am grateful for everything they have done to keep us safe during the pandemic.”
British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson on Tuesday said: "Today marks a huge step forward in the UK's fight against coronavirus, as we begin delivering the vaccine to the first patients across the whole country.
"I am immensely proud of the scientists who developed the vaccine, members of the public who took part in trials, and the NHS who have worked tirelessly to prepare for rollout."
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Pfizer vaccine was approved on December 2 in Britain and the country has obtained 800,000 doses, which is enough to vaccinate 400,000 people.
Britons above 80 years of age, who are either hospitalized or already have outpatient appointments scheduled, along with nursing home workers and vaccination staff are the ones to get vaccinated first.