Asian ‘happy to do his bit’ as Johnson urges caution
AS THE vaccine was rolled out across the country, Dr Hari Shukla became the first person in the north-east of England to receive the shot.
The 87-year-old said he was “very comfortable and happy” to be first in line.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m excited about it,” Dr Shukla, a race relations campaigner, said. “We were waiting for this vaccine for a very long time.”
He added: “I’m so pleased we are hopefully coming towards the end of this pandemic and I am delighted to be doing my bit by having the vaccine. I feel it is my duty to do so and do whatever I can to help.”
His wife Ranju Shukla also received the jab at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary on Tuesday (8).
In London, prime minister Boris Johnson visited hospitals to see the first patients to receive the vaccination.
Responding to those who were wary of the vaccine, Johnson said: “There are those obviously who feel that a vaccine is something they object to politically or for ideological reasons. I think they are totally wrong. It’s safe; it’s the right thing to do.”
He added: “It will gradually make a huge, huge difference, but I stress ‘gradually’ because we are not there yet, we have not defeated this virus yet. We can’t afford to relax now.”
Health secretary Matt Hancock said he expected millions to be vaccinated by the end of the year. However, he warned people to still respect social-distancing rules until spring at least, when he hoped the most vulnerable people would be vaccinated.
The UK has ordered enough supplies of the shot to vaccinate 20 million people. Developed by Pfizer and BioNtech, the vaccine is said to be 95 per cent effective in preventing illness in final-stage trials. It is estimated there will be up to 800,000 vaccine doses administered in the coming weeks, with more than four million expected by the end of the month.