A charity T-shirt worn by the first woman to receive a Covid-19 vaccine outside clinical trials has seen a huge boost in sales after orders flooded in from around the globe.
Margaret Keenan, 90, received the Pfizer jab in Coventry on Tuesday while wearing a Christmas penguin top which is being sold to raise money for the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) Charity.
The exposure from pictures and videos of Mrs Keenan being shown around the world led to sales of the shirt rising by 300%, the charity said.
UHCW Charity director Jo O’Sullivan said she was “so emotional”, telling LBC: “We kitted her out in the T-shirt and some clothing that we’d bought her as well, just so that she felt more human rather than in a hospital gown.
“So we were really pleased that she was happy to wear our T-shirt with pride and go on TV nationally, well internationally actually, to be the first person to be vaccinated.”
Since Tuesday orders have rolled in, including from customers in China, Brazil and Germany.
An initial run of 500 shirts sold out, as did subsequent restocks of another 850, and the charity has now ordered a further 2,500 to meet demand.
Ms O’Sullivan said it was a “huge boost” to have the first vaccination performed in Coventry, adding: “It’s been a tough slog, frankly, for staff and everyone has been on their knees a bit and this has really lifted everybody just to know there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.”
– The T-shirts are available for £8 at http://www.uhcwcharity.org/shop/
