Brian Pinker, 82, has become the first person to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
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| Brian Pinker, 82, is the first to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine |
More than half a million doses of the vaccine were ready for use on Monday.
Health Minister Matt Hancock said it was a "pivotal moment" in the UK's fight against the virus, as vaccines would help curb infections and then allow restrictions to be lifted.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that regional restrictions in England were "likely on the verge of getting tougher" as the UK struggles to control a new rapidly spreading type of virus.
On Sunday, more than 50,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the UK for the sixth consecutive day, prompting Labor to demand a third national lockdown in England.
Northern Ireland and Wales currently have lockdowns of their own, while Scottish government ministers will meet at a later time to consider further measures.
The rationale comes as classes continue on whether pupils should return to school with the current high levels of Covid infection.
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Six hospital trust funds - in Oxford, London, Sussex, Lancashire and Warwickshire - administered the Oxford AstraZeneca syringe on Monday, with 530,000 ready-to-use doses.
Most of the different accessible doses will be sent to stacks of offerings led by Standard Practitioners and Care Professionals across the UK later in the week, according to the Department of Health and Welfare.
Pinker, who has been undergoing dialysis for kidney disease at Churchill for a number of years, said he is "really proud" of developing the vaccine in Oxford.
"The nurses, documents and workforce today were all top notch and I can now sincerely look forward to celebrating the 48th anniversary of my marriage to my wife Shirley later this year," he said.
Music teacher and father of three children Trevor Collett, 88, and Professor Andrew Pollard, a pediatrician working for the Oxford University Hospitals NHS, were among the first to be vaccinated.
The head nurse, Mrs. Foster, who gave the first dose, told the BBC that it was a "huge privilege", saying: "Every patient we've vaccinated over the past two weeks has their personal stories of the difference made, so it's no different this morning."
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