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
![A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as the mass public vaccination program gets underway, at the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, Dec. 8, 2020.](https://gdb.voanews.com/fffa3752-8087-428d-9eaa-a4a031098fb8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as the mass public vaccination program gets underway, at the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, Dec. 8, 2020.
![Paula McMahon prepares a shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as the mass public vaccination program gets underway, at the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, Dec. 8, 2020.](https://gdb.voanews.com/e927b8eb-f4e4-4068-bb3e-b20e9c6cf859_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Paula McMahon prepares a shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as the mass public vaccination program gets underway, at the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, Dec. 8, 2020.
![Deputy charge nurse Katie McIntosh show information about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Clinical Lead of Outpatient Theatres Andrew Mencnarowski at the Western General Hospital.](https://gdb.voanews.com/6fa91b8f-4e53-4340-b083-0bb797e60d37_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Deputy charge nurse Katie McIntosh show information about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Clinical Lead of Outpatient Theatres Andrew Mencnarowski at the Western General Hospital.
![Henry (Jack) Vokes, 98, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, England, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020. The United Kingdom, one of the countries hardest hit by the…](https://gdb.voanews.com/51ecd7e0-e46c-44fe-add9-46c74f4360a8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Henry (Jack) Vokes, 98, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, England, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020. The United Kingdom, one of the countries hardest hit by the…