An interview with a 91-year-old man who received one of the world’s first Covid-19 jabs has gone viral, clocking almost 2 million views in a matter of hours.
Martin Kenyon, 91, was given his first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at Guy’s Hospital in London on Tuesday, the day the NHS started its mass immunisation programme.
In an interview with CNN, Mr Kenyon said he was looking forward to hugging his granddaughters once he had been given his second dose and had built up immunity against the virus.
“I hope I’m not going to get the b***** bug now. I don’t intend to have it because I’ve got granddaughters. I intend to live a long time to enjoy their lives,” he told CNN’s Cyril Vanier.
“There’s no point in dying now when I’ve lived this long,” he added.
The 91-year old also gave additional details about his day, revealing that he’d had “a nasty lunch” while waiting for his appointment.
His television appearance won him legions of admirers on Twitter, with some social media users describing him as “charming”.
“This interview wins the day,” Oliver Darcy, CNN’s senior media reporter, tweeted on Tuesday afternoon along with the footage.
Although Mr Kenyon had one of the earliest jabs, another nonagenarian, Margaret Keenan, was the first in the world to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.
Ms Keenan, who turns 91 next week, had the injection in Coventry early on Tuesday morning as part of a phased rollout of the vaccine to vulnerable people and health staff across the UK.
She 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.”
Additional reporting by PA
