In Pictures: First COVID-19 vaccinations begin in UK

Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first patient in Britain to receive the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at University Hospital, administered by nurse May Parsons, at the start of the largest ever immunisation programme in the British history, in Coventry, Britain.

Margaret Keenan, 90, is applauded by staff as she returns to her ward after becoming the first patient in Britain to receive the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at University Hospital, in Coventry. Britain is the first country in the world to start vaccinating people with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

A nurse prepares to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy’s Hospital in London. The vaccine, called BNT162b2, is based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which uses a chemical messenger to instruct cells to make proteins that mimic the outer surface of the new coronavirus, thereby creating immunity.

Ranju Shukla, accompanied by her husband Dr Hari Shukla, receives the first of two Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine jabs, administered by retired nurse Suzanne Medows, at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, on the first day of the largest immunisation programme in the UK's history. Care home workers, NHS staff and people aged 80 and over began receiving the jab this morning.

"Bill" William Shakespeare, 81, receives the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at University Hospital, at the start of the largest ever immunisation programme in the British history, in Coventry.

Nurse May Parsons (C) carries a dose of the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine to innoculate Margaret Keenan (unseen), 90, at University Hospital in Coventry, central England, on December 8, 2020 making Keenan the first person to receive the vaccine in the country's biggest ever immunisation programme. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed a "huge step forward" in the fight against the coronavirus, which has infected more than 1.7 million people and killed more than 61,000 people in Britain.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson watches as nurse Rebecca Cathersides administers the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Lyn Wheeler at Guy's Hospital in London. The over-80s, care home workers and at-risk frontline health and social care staff are first in line to get the jab, on what has been dubbed "V-Day". A second jab is required in 21 days.

Sister Joanna Sloan receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as the first person in Northern Ireland at the Royal Victoria Hospital, in Belfast. The U.K.'s speedy clearance of the vaccine has drawn criticism from experts in the U.S. and Europe, though domestic regulators say they've put safety first.

A nurse administers the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy’s Hospital in London. The MHRA has stressed it has been cleared for mass rollout only after 'rigorous' safety tests despite the process being speeded up due to the urgency of finding an effective vaccine against a pandemic that has wreaked havoc around the world.

Retired nurse Suzanne Medows speaks to race relations campaigner Dr Hari Shukla, 87, and his wife Ranju, before he receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. 'I'm so pleased we are hopefully coming towards the end of this pandemic and I am delighted to be doing my bit by having the vaccine, I feel it is my duty to do so and do whatever I can to help,' said Shukla.

A nurse holds a phial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy’s Hospital in London. Since the Pfizer vaccine got the green light from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) last week, the NHS said. Its workers have been working around the clock to manage the huge scale logistical challenge of deploying the vaccine.

Nurse May Parsons carries a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine at University Hospital in Coventry, central England. "Today is just the first step in the largest vaccination programme this country has ever seen. It will take some months to complete the work as more vaccine supplies become available and until then we must not drop our guard,' said NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens, as he praised everyone involved in the first clinically approved COVID-19 vaccination for "achieving in months what normally takes years".

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to to Lyn Wheeler before she received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital in London.

A nurse administers the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a woman at a health centre in Cardiff, South Wales'. Britain on December 8 hailed a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as it begins the biggest vaccination programme in the country's history with a new Covid-19 jab.

Medical personnel prepare to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to recipients at a health centre in Cardiff, South Wales.

David Farrell, 51, from Llandow, receives the first of two Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine jabs at a vaccination centre in Cardiff.