SALT LAKE CITY — There were several developments Tuesday on the COVID-19 vaccination front.
A 90-year-old woman in England became the first person to receive an initial dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine. Margaret Keenan, a retired store clerk, was the first in line at University Hospital in Coventry.
READ: 90-year-old woman in England is the first to receive initial dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
The second person to receive the vaccine in the United Kingdom was 81-year-old William Shakespeare. Due to sharing the namesake of The Bard, several plays on words quickly hit the internet. “The Taming of the Shrew” became the “Taming of the Flu.”
READ: William 'Bill' Shakespeare is 2nd UK jab recipient
The Food and Drug Administration posted online a positive review of the Pfizer vaccine which was co-developed by BioNTech. The review offers the world the first detailed look at the evidence behind the shot. The FDA is expected to clear the vaccine for emergency authorization as early as Thursday.
President Trump is staging a “Vaccine Summit” at the White House. He is expected to issue an executive order that Americans get first access to the vaccine, before the US helps other countries. Representatives from Pfizer and Moderna, which has another viable vaccine, turned down invitations to the event.
While phase one is aimed at protecting 24 million front line medical workers, and everyone is expected to have access to the vaccine by spring or summer.
“Hopefully by March we'll start to see vaccines available for the general public,” said CDC Director, Robert Redfield.