It was fantastic news that, at 6.31 this morning, 90 year-old Margaret Keenan from Enniskillen, who lives in Coventry, became the first person in the world to receive a clinically authorised vaccine for COVID-19.
As my colleague the Health Secretary said, "this marks the start of the NHS’s Herculean task to deploy vaccine right across the UK, in line with its founding mission to support people according to clinical need, not ability to pay. This simple act of vaccination is a tribute to scientific endeavour, human ingenuity and the hard work of so many people. Today marks the start of the fight back against our common enemy, coronavirus."
I paid tribute to the NHS, the scientists and to the Health Secretary for today’s amazing news.
Carshalton and Wallington residents were touched to hear the words of George Dyer this morning, who, in next door Croydon University Hospital, was the first Londoner to be vaccinated.
He said that he was looking forward to going to the shops at Christmas and seeing his family once again.
I was pleased to hear his confirmation that we would soon see the roll-out in Carshalton and Wallington, and that he looked forward to building the new hospital in Sutton for local residents.
You can watch my exchange above, or read a transcript of the entire proceedings here.