Last checked at 
* Grandmother, 90, gets Pfizer vaccine
* Britain rolls out COVID vaccine, first in the West
* 'You can do it too' says first recipient
(Adds quotes, details)
By Kate Holton
LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Margaret Keenan, the 90-year-old
grandmother who became the first person in the world to receive
the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine outside of a trial in Britain on
Tuesday, has a message for others: "go for it" to beat the
devastating disease.
An early riser, Keenan, from Northern Ireland, received the
Pfizer-BioNTech shot at her local hospital in
Coventry, central England, at 0631 GMT, a week before she turns
91.
A video showed her being wheeled out of the ward while
nursing staff clad in protective gear lined the corridor to
applaud and cheer, an echo of moving video clips released
through the year when COVID-19 survivors left hospital.
"I say go for it, go for it because it's free and it's the
best thing that has ever happened," Keenan told reporters as
cameras flashed and television reporters asked questions.
"If I can do it, well, so can you," she told any doubters.
Known as Maggie to her friends, Keenan said she had stuck by
the rules and spent most of the year on her own as the
"devastating" pandemic took hold.
The vaccine means she can start to look forward to spending
time with her family and friends again.
Britain is the first Western country to start immunising its
population in what has been hailed as a turning point in the
battle to defeat the disease. It is the worst-hit country in
Europe with more than 61,000 deaths.
"I wasn't nervous at all," Keenan said, before discussing
plans for her birthday.
Video footage showed the former jewellery shop assistant
wearing a light blue mask, a grey cardigan and a blue T-shirt
with a penguin in snow and the message "Merry Christmas".
She received the shot in her left arm from nurse May
Parsons, who has worked in Britain's National Health Service
(NHS) for 24 years.
"WE WILL BEAT THIS TOGETHER"
The mass inoculation will fuel hope that the world may be
turning a corner in the fight against a pandemic that has
crushed economies and killed more than 1.5 million.
Parsons said the last few months had been tough, but that
there was now light at the end of the tunnel.
"I'm just glad that I'm able to play a part in this historic
day," said Parsons, originally from the Philippines.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Stephen Powis,
medical director for NHS England, said they had both found it
emotional watching the vaccine programme rollout. Hancock wiped
away tears on live television.
An 86-year-old British woman who will also receive the shot
on Tuesday was choked with emotion as she recounted on the radio
how she had had to grieve for her husband alone after he died
with the disease.
She is looking forward to going to the shops and taking the
bus again.
Britain has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech
shot. As each person requires two doses, that is enough to
vaccinate 20 million people in the country of 67 million.
About 800,000 doses are expected to be available within the
first week, with care home residents and carers, the over-80s
and some health service workers the top priority to get them.
Keenan said she hadn't made history before but was very
proud to have played her part. For now, though, she said she
planned to have a little rest.
(Editing by Estelle Shirbon, Guy Faulconbridge and Janet
Lawrence)
