First person to get covid vaccine urges others to get jab
Margaret Keenan from Coventry was the world's first patient to get the jab.
Last updated 8th Dec 2021
Margaret Keenan, who a year ago became the first person to have a Covid jab, has urged people to get a vaccination.
The 91-year-old from Coventry said:
"The best Christmas present I could have is being in good health and having had the jab and feeling free from this horrible virus."
The grandmother, who has also already also had her booster and flu jabs, described being a global name as "wonderful".
Margaret - known as Maggie - was speaking at UHCW, the place where a year ago, to the day, on December 8 last year, she became the first person to have a jab as part of a mass vaccine rollout.
She was joined by the matron who delivered the jab, May Parsons, who warned that unvaccinated young people and pregnant women were "gambling with their lives" by not getting vaccinated - urging them to come forward.
Looking back on the historic jab, Margaret - a mother of two and grandmother of four from Coventry in the West Midlands - said:
"It felt great, honestly, I could not believe that things went so well, afterwards.
"At the time I wasn't feeling good but once I got that jab and things started to be better, so I had a wonderful year - thanks to the NHS."
Mrs Keenan has lived in Coventry for more than 60 years but is originally from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
Speaking about people who had not yet had any jab, she said: "It's amazing how many people don't want it
"I don't know why because they should have it... everybody should have the jab."
The nonagenarian, who only retired from her job working in a jeweller's six years ago, added: "I hope I'm a good example, skipping down the road."
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said:
"Maggie's jab marked the launch of the world's first national vaccination programme - watched around the globe it was a moment of hope after months of fear."
She added the mass rollout had now delivered nearly 100 million jabs in England, but urged people to apply to become one of 10,000 new staff needed by the NHS to help with the next phase of delivering booster injections.