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Dec 8, 2020 - World

U.K. begins world's first Pfizer coronavirus vaccinations

Rebecca Falconer
Nurse May Parsons (R) administers the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine to Margaret Keenan (L), 90, at University Hospital in Coventry, central England, on December 8
Margaret Keenan (L), who turns 91 next week, at University Hospital in Coventry, England, said Tuesday, "I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19, it's the best early birthday present I could wish for." Photo: Jacob King/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

U.K. medical teams began administering Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine doses on Tuesday, with people aged 80 and older the first to be inoculated.

The big picture: The U.K. last week became the first Western nation to give emergency approval for a COVID-19 vaccine. Margaret Keenan, 90, was the world's first person to get a fully tested, clinically authorized COVID-19 vaccine, at a hospital in Coventry, England. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, "We will look back on today, V-day, as a key moment in our fightback against this terrible disease."

Go deeper: In photos: How the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in 2020

Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of Keenan's vaccination.

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