Britain has vaccinated its first citizen against the COVID-19 virus. Ninety-year-old nursing home resident Margaret Keenan received the first of two doses of a vaccine jointly developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.
The vaccination campaign, dubbed “V-Day” by Health Secretary Mark Hancock, began nearly a week after the government’s medical regulatory agency granted emergency approval for the vaccine, making Britain the first western nation ready to begin mass inoculations.
Britain Begins Mass COVID Vaccine Campaign
![Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, at University Hospital, Coventry, England, Dec. 8, 2020.](https://gdb.voanews.com/6de24845-cdb4-4c01-a749-7b945213be97_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, at University Hospital, Coventry, England, Dec. 8, 2020.
![British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Guy's Hospital on the first day of administering a coronavirus vaccine in London, Dec. 8, 2020.](https://gdb.voanews.com/2a00658a-35f3-4fec-91e1-168ebe66e870_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Guy's Hospital on the first day of administering a coronavirus vaccine in London, Dec. 8, 2020.
![Medical staff in booths prepare to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Cardiff, Wales, Dec. 8, 2020.](https://gdb.voanews.com/7d399ce0-ca35-4f29-9013-9ad0ab7658a9_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Medical staff in booths prepare to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Cardiff, Wales, Dec. 8, 2020.
![Medical staff in booths prepare to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Cardiff, Wales, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020. The United Kingdom, one of the countries hardest…](https://gdb.voanews.com/0dccbbdc-c929-4286-810b-282bbee4e585_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Medical staff in booths prepare to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Cardiff, Wales, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020. The United Kingdom, one of the countries hardest…