UK nurse on giving first jab, NHS on variant spike

Britain on Monday took another giant step in the fight against COVID-19, ramping up its immunization program by giving the first shots in the world from the vaccine created by Oxford University and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

Dialysis patient Brian Pinker, 82, was the first to get the new vaccine shot, administered by the chief nurse at Oxford University Hospital, followed by music teacher and father-of-three Trevor Cowlett, 88.

Since December 8, Britain’s National Health Service has been using a vaccine made by Pfizer and the German firm BioNTech to inoculate health care workers and nursing home residents and staff.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine boosts that medical arsenal and is cheaper and easier to use since it does not require the super-cold storage needed by the Pfizer vaccine.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was being administered at a small number of U.K. hospitals for the first few days so authorities can watch out for any adverse reactions.

But hundreds of new vaccination sites - at both hospitals as well as local doctors’ offices - will launch this week, joining the more than 700 already in operation, NHS England said.

(IMAGE CREDITS:AP)