British Man Becomes First Patient In The World To Get Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Outside Trials

The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine is now available for use in the UK, with the first patient receiving the jab outside clinical trials.

Brian Pinker, 82, is the first person in the world to receive the first of two doses with the new vaccine, which gives a level of immunity against Covid-19.

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Hospitals at six NHS trusts across London, Brighton, Oxford, Morecambe and Nuneaton will be the first to give the vaccine, with over 500 GP surgeries and community centres to have received the jab by the end of the week.

The AstraZeneca/Oxford jab has an advantage over the existing Pfizer vaccine, as it does not need to be kept refrigerated in such cold conditions.

Britain has ordered 100million doses of the new vaccine, enough for 50 million people.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to vaccinate tens of millions of people in the next three months, and claims that by March 15th, social distancing measures can be eased as everyone over 65 will have been inoculated.

The new vaccine comes after coronavirus cases across the UK skyrocketed, following the discovery of a mutant strain of the virus that's highly infectious.

The strain, which is prominent in London and the South East, has seen a steady rise of hospital admissions with those suffering from Covid-19.

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And the contagious nature of the vaccine has meant that strict Tier 4 restrictions were put in place, putting a halt to any proposed Christmas mixing just before the festive season.

However, the government are remaining positive that they can now start to save lives with the new jab.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced: "I'm delighted that today we are rolling out the Oxford vaccine, a testament to British science.

"This is a pivotal moment in our fight against this awful virus and I hope it provides renewed hope to everybody that the end of this pandemic is in sight."

Topics: UK News, Coronavirus, Covid-19

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley