V-DAY HEROES WHO’VE MADE BRITAIN PROUD

As inspirational 90-year-olds are first in world to have jab...

V-DAY heroes last night urged vaccine sceptics to have the Covid jab for the good of the country.

Thousands of elderly British patients made history yesterday by being the first in the world to get the injection outside of medical trials.

The national vaccination drive was launched at 70 UK hospitals, with most doses given to the over-80s.

Margaret Keenan, a Coventry grandmother, was first in line, declaring: ‘If I can have it at 90, then you can have it too.’

Lyn Wheeler, 81, who was given the Pfizer jab in front of Boris Johnson at Guy’s in London, called for everyone to do their duty so normal life can resume. ‘It’s all for Britain,’ she added. ‘I’m going for it because I feel there’s no other way forward. We can’t keep sitting in our houses.’

Mr Johnson said: ‘you have seen Lyn take it, you have seen people take the vaccine this morning in large numbers. There’s nothing to be nervous about. To all those who are scared – don’t be.’

Day one saw around 5,000 people vaccinated, including the elderly, care home staff and NHS workers. An initial 800,000 doses are being rolled out in the coming days and Health Secretary Matt Hancock

has promised millions more before Christmas. In other developments:

▪ Holidays abroad were given the green light for next summer by officials;

▪ Care homes were told to expect doses of the vaccine by Christmas;

▪ Mr Hancock appeared to well up on live TV as he described his pride at the rollout;

▪ The Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine was found to be ‘safe and effective’ in a major study in the Lancet;

▪ However regulators face a decision over whether to approve the vaccine with a low-dose initial injection;

▪ US regulators inched closer to approving the Pfizer jab for the most vulnerable;

▪ Mr Johnson appeared to issue a warning about London following a rise in infection rates, sparking fears it could be plunged into Tier Three next week;

▪ Chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance warned the public may still be wearing face masks a year from now;

▪ Schools may be allowed to take an inset day on the last Friday of term so stressed teachers can have a ‘proper break’;

▪ A further 616 people died of coronavirus, taking the total to 62,033. Another 12,282 cases were confirmed.

Reacting to the footage of Mrs Keenan having her jab yesterday, Mr Hancock told Sky News: ‘I’m feeling quite emotional, actually, watching those pictures.

‘It has been such a tough year for so many people and finally we have our way through it – our light at the end of the tunnel as so many people are saying.

‘And just watching Margaret there – it seems so simple having a jab in your arm, but that will protect Margaret and it will protect the people around her.

‘And if we manage to do that in what is going to be one of the biggest programmes in NHS history, if we manage to do that for everybody who is vulnerable to this disease, then we can move on.’

He told the Commons more hospitals would be added to the list in the coming days. Around 300 GP hubs are expected to begin administering the jab next week, with hopes it could be taken into care homes within the fortnight.

Hospitals have been told they will be expected to use a minimum of one box of vaccine – 975 doses – during the first week, suggesting a total of almost 70,000.

Designated family doctors have been asked to operate from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, calling patients in for appointments by phone, message and letter.

Further stocks are due to arrive next week, before being checked and distributed to hospitals and surgeries across the UK from a secret storage facility.

Mr Hancock said he hoped ‘several million’ vulnerable people will have been given the jab by Christmas, paving the way for the easing of coronavirus restrictions by spring. Professor Stephen Powis, medical director of NHS England, hailed yesterday as a turning point for the pandemic.

‘This is the way out of it, the beginning of the end,’ he added. ‘It’s not going to happen tomorrow, it’s not going to happen next week or next month. We still need to socially distance, we need to follow all those restrictions in place.

‘But, in 2021, vaccination programmes will mean we can get back to normality.’

NHS England’s chief executive Simon Stevens said: ‘Less than a year after the first case of this new disease was diagnosed, the NHS has now delivered the first clinically approved Covid-19 vaccination – that is a remarkable achievement.’

Sir Simon also thanked all the scientists, health workers and volunteers who helped with the breakthrough.

US regulators last night confirmed that the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine was strongly protective against Covid-19.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to give the jab the green light within days, paving the way for thousands of Americans to join Britain’s vaccination efforts.

Coronavirus was involved in a quarter of deaths recorded in the final week of November, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The number of fatalities in England and Wales fell for the first time in more than two months as the lockdown drew toward an end. Despite the fall in overall deaths, Covid fatalities rose and more people died than has been typical for the same time of the year.

There were 12,456 deaths in the week that ended on November 27 – 79 fewer than in the previous week.

‘Protect people around her’