Nurse May Parsons giving Bill Shakespeare the injection
No, we’re not kidding – Bill Shakespeare, 81, is the second person to receive the coronavirus vaccine (Picture: PA)

A man named William Shakespeare has become the second person in the world to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

That’s right, the Warwickshire resident got the jab in University Hospital Coventry this morning.

The patient, 81 and usually known as Bill, is named after the famous playwright who was born nearby in Stratford-upon-Avon.

He was given it right after 90-year-old grandma Margaret Keegan, who was the first person ever to receive the Pfizer jab.

‘It’s ground-breaking I think,’ Bill told Good Morning Britain.

‘It could make a difference to our lives from now on, couldn’t it. It will be a precaution.’

It’s probably a joke he’s heard constantly throughout his life, but now another William Shakespeare has made history.

It comes as health secretary Matt Hancock declared today ‘V-Day’ – the start of the NHS’ biggest ever mass vaccination programme.

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Nurse May Parsons giving Bill Shakespeare the injection
Nurse May Parsons giving Bill the injection (Picture: PA)

The vaccines will be administered in dozens of hospitals across the country from today to older people, NHS staff and care home workers in what Mr Hancock says is ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’ for many.

‘Biggest vaccination programme in NHS history’

‘I’m feeling quite emotional actually watching those pictures,’ said the health secretary.

‘It has been such a tough year for so many people and finally we have our way through it – our ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, as so many people are saying.

‘And just watching Margaret there – it seems so simple having a jab in your arm, but that will protect Margaret and it will protect the people around her.

‘And if we manage to do that in what is going to be one of the biggest programmes in NHS history, if we manage to do that for everybody who is vulnerable to this disease then we can move on.’

Jabs will be administered at 50 hospital hubs across the country from today, with people aged 80 and over, care home workers and NHS workers who are at higher risk being the first to receive the vaccine.

Doses have already been arriving at vaccine hubs in preparation for the rollout, but it is not known when all hubs in England will receive them.

Deliveries are expected at different times throughout the week and then the inoculation process will begin.

Margaret Keenan, 90, who is the first person to receive the Pfizer Covid vaccination
Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first patient in the world to receive an approved coronavirus vaccine (Picture: PA)
Margaret Keenan, 90, who is the first person to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination
The injection marks the start of ‘V-Day’, when the Covid-19 vaccine is finally being rolled out (Picture: PA)

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Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said hospitals in England have identified appropriate places to conduct the vaccinations.

He said the ideal place is close to a cark park and separate from any other clinical area where there might be a risk of Covid-19 infection.

Staff will be working out the best arrangements in a socially distanced way and there will be timed slots to minimise queueing.

He added lists of people from the highest priority groups have been passed to appointment bookers, who have been making phone calls to arrange appointments.

Many hospitals are focusing on people who are due to come in for an outpatient appointment, or those who are currently receiving care in hospital.

Mr Hopson said hospitals are also talking to care homes which have been asked to provide lists of workers.

The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer jab, which is enough to vaccinate 20 million people – as two doses need to be administered.

There are 800,000 doses in the first set, meaning 400,000 people will be vaccinated initially.

The doses have been stored in undisclosed secure locations to ensure the security of the vaccine.

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