An 82-year-old dialysis patient is the first person to get Oxford and AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine since its UK authorization
- Brian Pinker, 82, was the first person to receive AstraZeneca and Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine on Monday morning as the UK began its rollout, the country's National Health Service said.
- Pinker, a dialysis patient, said he was "so pleased" to get the shot and could now look forward to celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife in 2021.
- The second person to get the shot was an 88-year-old father of three named Trevor Cowlett, and the third was Andrew Pollard, an Oxford professor who pioneered the vaccine.
- The UK authorized AstraZeneca and Oxford's jab on Wednesday and is due to receive 100 million doses — enough for 50 million people to be vaccinated.
An 82-year-old man was the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University since the UK began its rollout, the country's National Health Service said Monday.
Brian Pinker, a dialysis patient in Oxford, England, who has kidney disease, got the shot at 7:30 a.m. GMT, or 2:30 a.m. ET, at Oxford University Hospital, the NHS said in a statement.
"I'm so pleased to be getting the COVID vaccine today and really proud it is one that was invented in Oxford," said Pinker, who is a retired maintenance manager.
"The nurses, doctors, and staff today have all been brilliant, and I can now really look forward to celebrating my 48th wedding anniversary with my wife, Shirley, later this year."
The second person to receive AstraZeneca's shot was an 88-year-old father of three and music teacher named Trevor Cowlett, according to the NHS. The third was Andrew Pollard, an Oxford professor who pioneered the new jab.
The UK says patients must get the follow-up booster shot within 12 weeks of receiving their first dose of the vaccine, which was 70% effective on average in a late-stage trial at preventing COVID-19 symptoms.
Health authorities in the UK authorized emergency use of AstraZeneca and Oxford's vaccine on Wednesday, amid surging coronavirus cases in the country.
The UK has ordered 100 million doses of the two-dose shot, enough for 50 million people to be vaccinated.
It's the second COVID-19 vaccine to be given the green light in the country after Pfizer and BioNTech's shot was authorized on December 2.
Unlike Pfizer's vaccine, which has to be stored at ultracold temperatures, the AstraZeneca one can be kept in a standard refrigerator, making it easier to distribute and administer.
Sam Foster, the chief nursing officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who vaccinated Pinker, told the BBC: "It was a real privilege to be able to deliver the first Oxford vaccine at the Churchill Hospital here in Oxford, just a few hundred meters from where it was developed."
"We look forward to vaccinating many more patients and health and care staff with the Oxford vaccine in the coming weeks which will make a huge difference to people living in the communities we serve and the staff who care for them in our hospitals."