UK rolls out first Covid vaccine, 82-year-old gets first shot

London, United Kingdom: Britain on Monday began rolling out the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, a possible game-changer in fighting the disease worldwide, while China raced to inoculate millions with a homegrown prophylactic.

Britain started the new drive with 530,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, as it struggled to control a severe wave of infections.

The vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, is seen as a game-changer by many experts because it does not require very cold temperatures for storage like the ones from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.  

Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old retired maintenance manager, received the first jab at Oxford's Churchill Hospital, NHS England said.

"I'm very pleased that I got the Oxford vaccine," he said, adding that it was a "no-brainer" to get the shot.

Text: Sify
Images: AFP
Author: Shweta, Sify News