A migrant Filipino nurse based in the UK made history as the first health worker to administer the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
The clinical trial tests for this vaccine was completed in November. And with this development, Britain led the world as the first nation to approve it for use and immediate rollout.
Migrant Filipina Nurse First to Administer COVID-19 Vaccine in UK
The Filipina nurse, May Parsons, administered the first vaccine with a reported 95% efficacy to 90-year-old Margaret Keenan, who became the first patient to ever receive the vaccine, the Irish Times reported.
Parsons, who has been working for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) for over two decades, said that it had been an honour to become part of history for what she did.
In an exclusive interview, Parson told the Irish Times: “I’m just glad that I’m able to play a part in this historic day. The last few months have been tough for all of us working in the NHS, but now it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
In a separate interview, Keenan expressed her gratitude to Parsons and the rest of the NHS staff for taking good care of her.
“I can’t thank May and the 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!” Keenan shared.
She added that being given the vaccine was an early birthday present.
“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,” she said.
Meet Maggie: the first person in the world to receive a fully-tested and approved Covid-19 vaccine on the NHS. pic.twitter.com/eb2ijTMSLW
— NHS England and NHS Improvement (@NHSEngland) December 8, 2020
Meanwhile, in a tweet, UK Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce commended Parsons for being among the Filipino health workers in the UK who have made “enormous contribution” to the NHS.
“A fantastic moment! And great to see that the vaccine is administered by Nurse May Parsons from the Philippines—one of the many thousands of Filipino healthcare workers making such an enormous contribution to the NHS,” Pruce said.
A fantastic moment! And great to see that the vaccine is administered by Nurse May Parsons from the Philippines – one of the many thousands of Filipino healthcare workers making such an enormous contribution to the #NHS https://t.co/t1T5Wy8IzO
— Daniel Pruce ?? (@DanielPruce) December 8, 2020
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