An-87- years old Indian man Dr. Hari Shukla from England is the first one to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the UK.
Hari Shukla from Tyne and Wear said he was delighted to know that the world was coming to the end of the year-long pandemic with the launch of the vaccinations, with the United Kingdom granting Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine its approval for emergency use.
Dr. Shukla is from Kenya, where his father migrated to work on the railways, originally from Bombay.
Until moving to Newcastle in 1974, he studied at Exeter University, returned to Kenya to teach, and was offered his first job in race relations in Scunthorpe.
For his studies on race relations and helping to bring societies together, Dr. Shukla was awarded an MBE, OBE and CBE.
Dr. Shukla will be vaccinated with his better half Ranjan, 83, at the city’s Royal Infirmary on Tuesday morning. “When I received a telephone call, I was very excited that I got the opportunity of joining in and taking part,” said Dr.Shukla
“Hopefully, I’m so pleased that we’re coming to the end of this pandemic and I’m delighted to do my bit by getting the vaccine, I feel it’s my duty to do it and do whatever I can to help,” Shukla said.
Hari Shukla said, adding, “It’s a big relief because it’s not an ordinary crisis,” “I’m not nervous, or anything like that. I’m looking forward to it.”
People aged 80 and over, care home workers, as well as NHS workers who are at higher risk, will be first in line to receive the “life-saving jab”.
The Pfizer/BionTech formula is an mRNA vaccine that uses a small fragment of the pandemic virus’s genetic code to teach the body how to combat and develop immunity against Covid-19.
It is delivered in two portions of 21 days separated and, as per specialists, it has demonstrated a solid invulnerability reaction kicking in following seven days of the subsequent portion.
On Tuesday, England will begin dispensing the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. In the first week, nearly 800,000 doses are required to be available, with care home residents and nurses, the over 80s and some wellbeing administration laborers the first concern to get the shots.
“We will look back on today, V-day, as a key moment in our fight back against this terrible disease, and I am proud our health services across the United Kingdom are about to embark on our largest ever vaccination program,” said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
“With over-80s and frontline health and care staff receiving their vaccinations from today, the whole country will breathe a collective sigh of relief as our most vulnerable loved ones start to be given protection from the virus. Now’s the time to sit tight and remain patient until you get notified by the NHS that it’s time for your vaccination,” he said, adding that the light at the end of the tunnel is visible but there is still a long way to go.
“Coronavirus is the greatest health challenge in NHS history, taking loved ones from us and disrupting every part of our lives,” said Sir Simon Stevens, NHS Chief Executive.
“The deployment of this vaccine marks a decisive turning point in the battle with the pandemic. NHS vaccination programs which have successfully helped overcome tuberculosis, polio, and smallpox, now turn their focus to coronavirus. NHS staff are proud to be leading the way as the first health service in the world to begin vaccination with this COVID jab,” he said.
On the basis of the guidelines set by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation of the United Kingdom, Shukla was informed by the NHS as part of a phased rollout strategy focused on those at the highest risk of death from the deadly virus. People aged 80 and over, care home staff, as well as NHS workers at higher risk, will receive the “life-saving jab” first in line.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Finally there is light at the end of the tunnel.