An 82-year-old British man on Monday became the first person in the world to receive the controversial COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
Brian Pinker, a dialysis patient born and raised in Oxford, was shot at 7:30 am when the UK introduced the latest vaccine, a vaccine that the US has yet to approve due to questions about errors made during testing.
“I am so happy to receive the COVID vaccine today and I am really proud that it is a vaccine invented in Oxford,” Pinker said, according to the UK’s National Health Service.
“I can really look forward to celebrating my 48th wedding anniversary with my wife Shirley later this year.”
Sam Foster, chief nurse at Oxford University Hospital, performed the shot, calling it a ‘real privilege’ of giving it ‘just a few hundred yards from where it was developed’.
The head of the vaccine trial, Professor Andrew Pollard, was among the first group to receive the injection on Monday, calling it “an incredibly proud moment.”
The AstraZeneca / Oxford shot has been hailed for several important advantages over other vaccines. It is cheaper and easier to store and transport because it does not need to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures.
However, according to Operation Warp Speed’s chief scientist, it is unlikely that approval will take place in the US until April at the earliest, as regulators await further studies.
The jab’s research team had admitted that they had accidentally under-dosed during the trials, which gave the best results, but raised new questions about the relatively small size and young age of those who received that dose.