Marking the one-year anniversary of Covid-19 vaccination programme that started at UHCW NHS Trust

Almost 120 million first, second, third and booster Covid-19 jabs have been delivered by the NHS during the last year.

The world-leading vaccination programme, the scale of which this country has never seen, began on December 8, 2020, when grandmother Maggie Keenan became the first person in the world to receive an approved jab.

It was an iconic moment; an historic day. And it will always be a source of pride that those events took place at University Hospital, Coventry, with the whole world watching on.

To mark the first anniversary, Maggie returned to UHCW and was reunited with May Parsons, the Modern Matron who administered the first vaccine.

Maggie, 91, reflected on the last 12 months and urged people to come forward and get their booster shots when eligible to do so.

She said: "It was such a privilege and an honour to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19, everything went by in a blur. I’m not sure it will ever truly sink in.

“The staff at University Hospital, Coventry, showed me such wonderful care and compassion and I am so pleased to have remained friends with May since that day.

“Getting the vaccine gave me so much more confidence to go out to places. It’s saving lives, protecting those around us and is helping the NHS, so what more can I say – go for it, go and have it done.”

UHCW Chief Executive Officer, Professor Andy Hardy, added: “I can remember it as though it were yesterday.

“I’m incredibly proud to celebrate the vaccination programme’s one-year anniversary and shine a spotlight on all of the hard work that you, our amazing colleagues, do every day to continue our fight against the pandemic.”