LONDON, Jan 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain began the mass rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, a cheap and easy to distribute shot that experts hope will help crush the pandemic.
Brian Pinker, 82, a retired maintenance manager on dialysis for kidney disease, got the shot at an Oxford hospital, and said it was “the only way of getting back to a bit of normal life”.
Pinker paid tribute to the scientists who had developed the shot, saying he was looking forward to celebrating his wedding anniversary.
“I am so pleased to be getting the Covid vaccine today and really proud that it is one that was invented in Oxford,” he said in a statement released by the health service.
“The nurses, doctors and staff today have all been brilliant and I can now really look forward to celebrating my 48th wedding anniversary with my wife Shirley later this year.”
Some 530,000 doses are to be administered at new vaccination sites across Britain, adding to those already giving the Pfizer-BioNTech jab since early last month.
Britain became the first country in the world to approve the use of a vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech on Dec 2, and has already given nearly one million people a first dose.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is far cheaper than its rivals, costing about £2.50 ($3.40, 2.75 euros) per dose, making it affordable for developing countries.
It can also be kept in the fridge, while Pfizer-BioNTech’s requires storage at ultra-low temperatures. — NNN-AGENCIES
