London: The UK on Monday began rolling out the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, becoming the first nation to inoculate people with the cheaper and easy-to-handle jab outside of trials.
The Oxford vaccine, which also has a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, was first administered to Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old Oxford-born dialysis patient.
Pinker is among the first to be vaccinated by the Oxford University Hospital's (OUH) chief nurse, hailed as a major milestone in the phased vaccination programme being undertaken by the National Health Service (NHS). The Oxford jab is the second vaccine approved for rollout in the UK after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
The rollout comes as Coronavirus cases in the UK continue to surge. The country has registered over 50,000 new COVID-19 cases for six days in a row, with 54,990 new cases reported on Sunday.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was a "pivotal moment" in the UK's fight against the virus, as vaccines will help curb infections and then allow restrictions to be lifted.
Pinker, a retired maintenance manager, said he was pleased to be getting protection against the virus, giving him peace of mind as he continues to receive treatment.
Alongside Pinker, music teacher and father-of-three Trevor Cowlett, aged 88, and Professor Andrew Pollard, a paediatrician working at OUH who also pioneered the Oxford jab, are among the first to be vaccinated on Monday.
"The Oxford vaccine is a triumph of British science and I want to thank everyone involved in its development and production," said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"We know there are challenges still ahead of us over the coming weeks and months, but I'm confident this is the year we will defeat Coronavirus and start building back better," he said.
Professor Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Chief Investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, said: "It was an incredibly proud moment for me to have received the actual vaccine that the University of Oxford and the AstraZeneca teams have worked so hard to make available to the UK and the world.
"As a paediatrician specialising in infections, I know how important it is that healthcare workers along with other priority groups are protected as soon as possible a crucial role in defeating this terrible
disease".
The new Oxford vaccine is easier to transport and store than the Pfizer jab, which has to be kept at minus 70 degrees until shortly before it is used, making it easier to deliver in care homes.