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<p>Margaret Keenan, 90, is the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine at University Hospital, Coventry, administered by nurse May Parsons</p>
A grandmother has become the first person in the world to receive Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine as the NHS begins its mass vaccination programme.  
Margaret Keenan, 90, received the jab at 6.31am in Coventry on Tuesday, marking the start of a phased rollout of the vaccine to older people, NHS staff and care home workers.  
Race relations campaigner Hari Shukla, 87, will also be one of the first to receive the jab in the UK when he attends an 8am appointment at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.  
Londoners have been urged to keep following social distancing restrictions to help ensure the city is not placed into tougher tier 3 restrictions amid rising infections across three-quarters of the capitals boroughs.  
A spokesman for the London mayor Sadiq Khan warned there could be a devastating surge in cases this winter should people fail to follow the existing tier 2 coronavirus measures.  
Government officials are due to review England’s tiered restrictions on December 16. 
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PM: We will beat this together
Boris Johnson has thanked the NHS, scientists, volunteers and the public as the first UK vaccines begin.  
The prime minister tweeted: Today the first vaccinations in the UK against COVID-19 begin. Thank you to our NHS, to all of the scientists who worked so hard to develop this vaccine, to all the volunteers – and to everyone who has been following the rules to protect others. We will beat this together. 
Chiara Giordano8 December 2020 08:20
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UK vaccine rollout feels like beginning of the end
Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, said the start of the UKs Covid-19 vaccination programme “feels like the beginning of the end”.
Asked what his message was to people who might have concerns over the vaccine, he told BBC Breakfast: “Vaccination is one of the safest forms of medicine.”
He added: “We know they work. This one has been tested in many thousands of people in clinical trials.
“And, of course, the independent regulator, the MHRA, has looked at it carefully, as it always does, and has given it the green light.
“I’m absolutely confident that this … all vaccines are safe. And so if you get called, we’ll be calling you to come and get it, then my advice is come and get it.”
Chiara Giordano8 December 2020 08:11
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Next doses of Pfizer vaccine will arrive next week, says Hancock
Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the next doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will arrive next week and that the numbers will depend on how quickly the jab can be made.  
He told BBC Good Morning Scotland: “It is being manufactured in Belgium and obviously right across the UK the job is to be able to get the vaccinations done as quickly as the manufacturer can create it, so we’ve been all working together really closely, the UK government, which has been buying the vaccine and getting it delivered into the country, and then the NHS in the four nations of the UK.”  
Asked how quickly the vaccine can arrive and in what sort of numbers, he replied: “We’ve got a broad schedule, there will be several million for the UK as a whole, so several hundred thousand for Scotland over the remainder of this month.  
“We’ve got that as a broad delivery schedule but obviously the manufacturing process itself is complicated.” 
Chiara Giordano8 December 2020 07:59
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Tier 3 would be catastrophic for London, mayor warns
Sadiq Khan has urged Londoners to follow the coronavirus rules as tier 3 would be catastrophic for the capital.  
The number of new cases in the city rose slightly during the last week of the national lockdown, while the latest estimate of the R number, or reproduction number, of the virus is also higher in London than most regions of the country.  
The government is due to review Englands tiered restrictions on 16 December. 
We are keen to make sure we stay in Tier 2, says mayor Sadiq Khan
Chiara Giordano8 December 2020 07:47
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90-year-old grandmother first in world to receive Pfizer vaccine
A 90-year-old grandmother from Coventry has become the first person in the world to receive Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine.  
Margaret Keenan received the jab at about 6.30am today, marking the start of the NHS mass vaccination programme.  
Ms Keenan, who turns 91 next week, is a former jewellery shop assistant who only retired four years ago. May Parsons, a nurse at Ms Keenans local hospital in Coventry, administered the vaccine. 
Grandmother inoculated at 6.30am in Coventry on Tuesday, marking start of historic programme
Chiara Giordano8 December 2020 07:43
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Good morning and welcome to The Independents live coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for live updates and statistics.
Chiara Giordano8 December 2020 07:39