London: Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old woman from Northern Ireland on Tuesday became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine - marking the start of the UK's mass vaccination programme against the deadly disease.
Keenan, from Enniskillen, said she felt "so privileged" to receive the jab at University Hospital, Coventry.
Keenan became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outside trial conditions, the BBC reported.
"I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19, it's the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the new year after being on my own for most of the year."
"I can't thank May and the National Health Service (NHS) staff enough who have looked after me tremendously, and my advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it - if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too."
The UK will be the first country in the world to start using the Pfizer vaccine after regulators approved its use last week.
Since the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine got the green light from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the NHS said its workers have been working around the clock to manage the large-scale logistical challenge of deploying the vaccine.
Vaccination will not be compulsory in the UK.
The country has reported more than 1,742,000 conformed COVID-19 cases and over 61,000 deaths.
(With PTI Inputs)