UK Vaccination Drive: 87-Yr-Old India-Origin Man Among First In The World To Get The Jab

Hari Shukla, who wil be administered the first two-dose vaccine, is delighted to be doing his bit and expressed his greatest respect for hard work of National Health Service during the pandemic.

Image: AFP/ Representational

London: After the UK has embarked on one of its biggest immunisation programme, an 87-year-old Indian-origin man from the north east of England is on the way to become one of the first people in the world to get a vaccine against the deadly disease that has shaken the mankind. Hari Shukla from Tyne and Wear is among the first people to get the Pfizer/BioNTech jab at a hospital in Newcastle on Tuesday, as per the news agency PTI. While sharing the news, Shukla who feels it’s his duty to receive the first of the two-dose vaccine said, "I'm so pleased we are hopefully coming towards the end of this pandemic and I am delighted to be doing my bit by having the vaccine, I feel it is my duty to do so and do whatever I can to help." Tuesday has been called as "V-Day" or Vaccine Day in the UK while Prime Minister Boris Johnson termed it as a "huge step forward". The octogenarian also mentioned about being in contact with the NHS (National Health Service), and expressed his greatest respect for their hard work saying, “They have a heart of gold and I am grateful for everything they have done to keep us safe during the pandemic." How did he become one of the first to get vaccinated? As per the criteria set in the UK, senior citizens aged 80 and over, care home workers as well as NHS workers who are at higher risk will be first in line to receive the "life-saving jab". On the basis of the norms set by the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, NHS has notified Shukla to become part of a phased rollout plan based on those at the highest risk of death from the deadly virus. However, the UK PM struck a note of caution to warn that mass vaccination will take time and urged the public to remain "clear-eyed" and continue to follow the lockdown rules over the winter months ahead. What’s expected on the Vaccination day? As per the NHS it will be the biggest and most highly anticipated immunisation campaign in history at 50 hospital hubs and more vaccinations starting over the coming weeks and months. The initial programme will target in giving first set of doses which have arrived from Pfizer's manufacturing site in Belgium. "We will look back on today, V-day, as a key moment in our fight back against this terrible disease, and I am proud our health services across the United Kingdom are about to embark on our largest ever vaccination programme," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock. "With over-80s and frontline health and care staff receiving their vaccinations from today, the whole country will breathe a collective sigh of relief as our most vulnerable loved ones start to be given protection from the virus. Now's the time to sit tight and remain patient until you get notified by the NHS that it''s time for your vaccination," he said, adding that the light at the end of the tunnel is visible but there is still a long way to go.