First coronavirus vaccinations starting to roll out in Northern Ireland - but first person in world to be vaccinated in UK is Margaret Keenen, 90, from Enniskillen

A member of the nursing staff at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital, Sister Joanna Sloan, was the first person to receive the vaccine just after 8am.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved for use in the UK on 2 December, with the first consignment arriving in Northern Ireland two days later.

The recipient will be one of an 800-plus team of vaccinators that will be involved in the subsequent rollout programme.

But the first ever recipient of the vaccine in the world was a 90-year-old woman from Enniskillen.

Margaret Keenan become the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine outside trial conditions - marking the start of the UK’s mass vaccination programme.

Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, said it was the “best early birthday present”.

Hubs in the UK will vaccinate over-80s and some health and care staff.

The programme aims to protect the most vulnerable and return life to normal.

Matron May Parsons administered Ms Keenan’s vaccine at at 06.30 GMT at University Hospital, Coventry.

Ms Keenan said: “I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19, it’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the new year after being on my own for most of the year.”

“I can’t thank May and the NHS staff enough who have looked after me tremendously, and my advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it - if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too.”

Stormont Health Minister Robin Swann described it as a “hugely important day” but cautioned the full programme will take months to deliver.

Stormont Health Minister Robin Swann described it as a “hugely important day” but cautioned the full programme will take months to deliver.

Healthcare workers across the region will be able to get the vaccine through the remainder of December at seven centres spread across the region.

On Monday, Mr Swann announced care home residents will also be prioritised in the first phase.

He said deployment of the vaccine to care homes will proceed in the coming days.

The minister said officials have been working on the logistical requirements for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and reached a solution involving mobile teams operating from the different trust vaccination centres.

“We are currently considering how these arrangements might be extended to include over-80s in the community,” Mr Swann added.

Stocks of coronavirus vaccine arrived in Northern Ireland on Friday.

There are 25,000 doses in the initial batch of the vaccine.

The stocks have been taken to a central storage facility operated by a private company. The location is not being disclosed.

Two of the facilities are located on hospital grounds – at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald and Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital – and the rest in leisure centres.

The centres will operate 12 hours a day and seven days a week.