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[–][deleted] 6601 points6602 points  (227 children)

The second patient was called William Shakespeare and is from Warwickshire... wow

[–]addorian 709 points710 points  (48 children)

The taming of the flu

[–]Baldtastic 70 points71 points  (2 children)

Much aflu about nothing

[–]Warlandoboom 223 points224 points  (33 children)

Covid Summer Night's Dream

[–]FungiSamurai 157 points158 points  (28 children)

The Merchant of Vaccine

[–]CovfefeCthulhu2020 147 points148 points  (26 children)

A Gentleman of Corona

[–]tinkertron5000 100 points101 points  (24 children)

Henry the Eighth Man In Line For A Vaccine

[–]MobiusNaked 79 points80 points  (5 children)

VacBeth

[–]Cats-and-Chaos 12 points13 points  (2 children)

‘The Comedy of Errors’ is perfect as it is tbh

[–]all_things_code 67 points68 points  (16 children)

Hamlet.

I got nothing.

[–]MobiusNaked 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Coroneo and Fluiet

[–]realWaferMan 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Polio and Juliet

[–]photodragos 2106 points2107 points  (109 children)

I saw this commented somewhere else and I thought it was either a dumb joke or an anti-vax comment. You're actually right.

[–]Alyssa9876 1032 points1033 points  (85 children)

He was shown on TV having the shot and has a shakespeare beard as well lol. Piers Morgan is desperate to know if he is a decendant of the bard himself.

[–]iheartmagic 269 points270 points  (21 children)

Two days in a row I agree with Piers Morgan wtf is happening

[–]Cocomorph 112 points113 points  (2 children)

The law is inside out. The world is upside down.

[–]TheWhoamater 23 points24 points  (7 children)

It's the end of the world as we know it

[–]EndlessKng 97 points98 points  (0 children)

Man wrote stories about witches and faeries and we're shocked to discover he's actually received eternal youth...

[–]Tsorovar 33 points34 points  (9 children)

[–][deleted] 62 points63 points  (8 children)

Hey, there could still have been illegitimate children, we don't know of.

[–]PaleAsDeath 17 points18 points  (5 children)

He had a son grandson who could have had illegitimate children, too. And Shakespeare's sister has living descendants.

[–]jgjbl216 39 points40 points  (6 children)

Na, not a descendent, the bard was a well known time traveler, he likes to just pop up and see what’s going on from time to time, apparently he hasn’t heard about how famous he is so he’s still using his real name.

[–]forkinghecks 15 points16 points  (2 children)

William Shakespeare = The Doctor.

I’d better hide before U.N.I.T or Torchwood comes calling.

[–]AmputatorBotBOT 97 points98 points  (9 children)

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[–]FarawayFairways 174 points175 points  (12 children)

Sounds like someone in the registry was having a giggle anyway when they drew the roster up. Imagine their deliberations?

To be, or not to be

[–]IggytheZiggy 129 points130 points  (11 children)

TB or not TB?

[–]RoguelikeBoy 30 points31 points  (10 children)

not TB :'(

[–]Deceptichum 18 points19 points  (4 children)

It's never TB (except the one time or was).

[–]cluelesspcventurer 32 points33 points  (2 children)

British names havent changed much in the last 1000 years in comparison to some places like the US. My best mate is called william wallace, and yes, he is scottish.

[–]MatthewCruikshank 48 points49 points  (6 children)

I can't see real good, Dad, is that Bill Shakespeare over there?

[–]Funkit 12 points13 points  (5 children)

You’re gonna be usin the paper for ROLLIN DOOBIES’

[–]Kapachka 12 points13 points  (4 children)

When you're living in a van, down by the river

[–][deleted] 44 points45 points  (5 children)

!remindme 1 year

Gonna post this on TIL next year

[–]donoteatkrill 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Gonna repost the week after

[–]SanguinePar 14 points15 points  (2 children)

!remindme 364 days

[–]Are_you_blind_sir 44 points45 points  (1 child)

Huh an immortal queen and someone named william shakespeare in the same country. Nothing to see here reddit, move along

[–]chaobreaker 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Imagine being from from Warwickshire and your last name is Shakespeare, but you weren't named William at birth.

[–]stem12345679[S] 6872 points6873 points  (326 children)

A 90-year-old woman from Northern Ireland has become the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine outside trial conditions - marking the start of the UK's mass vaccination programme.

Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

[–]Veenstra89 2086 points2087 points  (118 children)

That sounds menacing.

[–]beluuuuuuga 674 points675 points  (67 children)

Hopefully this isn't the begginging of the end, that would ruin my Christmas.

[–][deleted] 240 points241 points  (56 children)

It’s the end of the beginning, how’s that?

[–]corey-in-cambodia 194 points195 points  (48 children)

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

[–][deleted] 96 points97 points  (3 children)

That sounds menacing.

Begun, the vaccine wars have.

[–]blargfargr 74 points75 points  (13 children)

Like how the 2007 version of I Am Legend began. cancer cure that kills off most people and the rest turn into zombies.

[–]Kakarot_faps 72 points73 points  (10 children)

Luckily at the current plan, all the zombies will be 80 years old. Good luck catching the rest of us

[–]Cazadore 25 points26 points  (0 children)

there was a joke around in the middle of the year were a time traveler came back from the future and asked the first person he met what year it is. after getting told that it was 2020 he asked if he meant before or after the bodies started walking again. that at the time made me laugh. now it just feels what else could be the final boss of 2020.

[–]fedehest 341 points342 points  (40 children)

Gutsy move to use a 90 year old as first mover. If she dies for whatever unrelated reason, the vaccine will be questioned as the cause

[–]Wiki_pedo 462 points463 points  (9 children)

She moves slowly, so they can align the 5G signals more easily than if it had been a younger, more active person.

[–]AshySnickers 15 points16 points  (1 child)

She's the first person outside of trial settings. Plenty of people have already been receiving the vaccine for months, including the elderly. They already have expectations for how it works and the safety.

[–]seraph321 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This. It’s like people are completely ignoring it went through trials and thousands of people have had it for a while.

[–][deleted] 62 points63 points  (7 children)

The beginning of the end, of the end of the beginning, has begun.

[–][deleted] 96 points97 points  (18 children)

Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

Don't forget that it will take many months before the effect of the vaccine is noticeable in the statistics. What we will see happening before some time six months from now is independent of the vaccination.

[–]Alvinum 73 points74 points  (4 children)

The health care workers should certainly be among the first ones. But I believe that the thinking is that the average health-care professional is probably in their 40s, meaning that if they catch COVID, they are much less likely to develop severe enough symptoms to require an intensive care bed for 3-4 weeks.

The main threat in many areas is hospitals running out of IC beds, which would lead to people dying who could otherwise be saved, including of things other than COVID, which have not stopped killing us

This is old data, but it illustrates the point: due to the much higher hospitalization rates, having 10 people over 70 get COVOd probably requires as many health care resources/beds as having 40-70 people in their 40s get COVID. (Didn't do the exact numbers - just to illustrate the idea.)

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6915e3.htm

[–]Blackpool8 19 points20 points  (0 children)

In the UK, Frontline health care workers are 2nd priority out 9, equal to over 80's and above everyone else. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-who-will-get-the-pfizer-vaccine-first-12081391

[–]Somebodysaywonder 237 points238 points  (11 children)

I wouldn’t be surprised if Boris used the whole of NI as a guinea pig. If the vaccine kills us all then it’ll make Brexit negotiations easier for him.

(This is a sarcastic comment, not a conspiracy theory, I am very much pro the vax. Up the vax, get it inta ye gyrls)

[–]surle 114 points115 points  (2 children)

I would have expected William Shakespeare to be a bit more eloquent in his support of the vaccine, but I guess 2020 has been a tough year on him too. We didn't even get a book of sonnets out of the lock down so he has obviously been doing this plague harder than the previous ones.

[–]Academic-Horror 1241 points1242 points  (132 children)

We are finally having some respite from the year that 2020 have been. Can't wait until we can freely go outside and enjoy without feeling guilty about it.

[–]swehardrocker 356 points357 points  (13 children)

I'm excited to move out from my ex

[–]AnAverageFreak 22 points23 points  (0 children)

At this point you should just start dating again

[–]Triette 572 points573 points  (82 children)

I’m excited to not push my wedding a year, again.

[–]mcbeef89 230 points231 points  (29 children)

Best of luck!

I just want to see my (12yr old) daughter again. My wife had a bone marrow transplant in April (what a year...) and is super immuno-compromised so my daughter can't visit. She was supposed to be with us for Christmas this year - no chance.

[–]Plumtreebee 139 points140 points  (20 children)

I'm excited for family and friends to spend proper time with my new baby!

[–]tietherope 79 points80 points  (9 children)

11 day old baby here. I hear you.

[–]Thisconnect 164 points165 points  (2 children)

very well versed in english for 11day old

[–]TtotheItotheM 38 points39 points  (3 children)

HOW DID YOU TYPE THAT!?

[–]Ullallulloo 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Prolly his fingers

.

Itty bitty baby waby fingers

[–]CajuNerd 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Well, aren't you the eloquent little homunculus?

[–][deleted] 1683 points1684 points  (137 children)

I’m in the Pfizer trial. I’m waiting for them to break the blind so I’ll know if I got the placebo or the vaccine. Based on my side effects, it seems like I got the real deal. All that to say.... you will probably feel like crap for about 24hrs after the shot but GET BOTH DOSES!

[–]PM_your_hairyBush 333 points334 points  (13 children)

I'm on the Astrazeneca trial - the 'placebo' for that one is the menACWY meningitis vaccine, picked as it gives similar side effect symptoms to ensure you can't tell which vaccine you received.

[–]efficient_giraffe 127 points128 points  (2 children)

Haha, I know it makes sense to do so, but it's a little funny to me that they give you something to make you feel a little shit so you can't know if you got the COVID vaccine or not

[–]husky401 46 points47 points  (4 children)

Do you have a source for that? The official government site says it was a saline placebo: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04516746

[–]PM_your_hairyBush 59 points60 points  (2 children)

I'm going by what I was told on the induction session - but here's a press release from Astrazeneca detailing early results.

https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2020/covid-19-vaccine-azd1222-showed-robust-immune-responses-in-all-participants-in-phase-i-ii-trial.html

It's the UK phase I/II trials using the comparative side effect generating placebo (which is the one I'm on).

[–]Briggykins 81 points82 points  (0 children)

I read that in some of these trials they gave people something that wasn't a placebo but that had similar side effects to the covid vaccine (I think it was the meningitis vaccine?). So unfortunately just having side effects doesn't mean you've had the real deal! Though for your sake I hope it does :)

[–]SyrahSmile 49 points50 points  (1 child)

Thank you for participating in the trial!

[–]afatunicorn 37 points38 points  (11 children)

Sounds way better than feeling like crap for 2+ weeks or dying.

[–]dhuang89 35 points36 points  (12 children)

what kind of side effects did you get?

[–]kittenmittens4865 78 points79 points  (4 children)

I’ve read side effects are basically the same as other vaccines- pain/tenderness at injection site as well as symptoms such as low fever, fatigue, and body ache. Those are good things though since they show that your body’s immune response is working.

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (3 children)

The pain in my arm and pain in my elbow and shoulder were awful. I had a terrible headache and fatigue (I couldn’t stay awake!). I felt feverish and just had an overall “puny” feeling. But they resolved.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Also, the staff was very good about not mentioning any possible side effects. They only said to call if there was swelling or redness. I had no idea what to expect but I wasn’t alarmed at how bad I felt.

[–]eju2000 7 points8 points  (7 children)

You should go get an antibody test like I did! I couldn’t stand not knowing. It’s only $50 with Labcorp & it’s within the guidelines of the study. I got the vaccine & I can’t even tell you how I felt once I got my results! 😌

[–]adk32 525 points526 points  (59 children)

There’s finally light at the end of this long, devastating tunnel

[–][deleted] 370 points371 points  (49 children)

Hope its not a train

[–]therealcoon 211 points212 points  (43 children)

Oh it's a train alright, an unstoppable one called Science.

Get in or get out of the way.

[–]AWilsonFTM 33 points34 points  (1 child)

If that were a UK train, you’d end up with a bus replacement service

[–]batmanbluray 936 points937 points  (25 children)

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[–]TheSimonToUrGarfunkl 248 points249 points  (12 children)

YOOOO EVERYONE GET IT HERE

[–]throwawaysmetoo 128 points129 points  (6 children)

GROOOOOUP HUUUUUUUUUUG

[–]lukelhg 106 points107 points  (3 children)

KISS THE HOMIES (SOON)

[–]AquilaVI 100 points101 points  (2 children)

FUCK CORONA

ALL MY HOMIES HATE CORONA

[–]kill___jester 119 points120 points  (21 children)

The pressure to deliver the jab with so many cameras watching must be immense

[–]Molineux28 44 points45 points  (10 children)

I'm nothing close to being an expert in this, but from what I read a few weeks ago I don't think a vein has to be found for this type of vaccine. Should make it a lot easier!

[–]kill___jester 33 points34 points  (7 children)

Yes but still, I've signed up to give the vaccines myself, hope they don't bring the cameras!

[–]TheHighwayman90 52 points53 points  (6 children)

You just stab them in the arm then push the pushy bit down then pull it back out, slap them on the ass, and off they go. NEXT!

[–]Gr1mreaper86 38 points39 points  (3 children)

The ass slap activates the vaccine. ;)

[–]surfema 278 points279 points  (29 children)

Poor BioNTech who actually made the vaccine, but gets no credit

[–]Gewt92 234 points235 points  (10 children)

I’m sure they’re wiping their tears with wads of cash

[–]Arntown 81 points82 points  (3 children)

I‘m sure public appreciation would be just a nice for the guys who worked hard for this. Scientists don‘t become scientists to get rich.

[–]mapbc 350 points351 points  (13 children)

First patient after the study phase.

Don’t need any nut jobs taking it the wrong way.

[–][deleted] 320 points321 points  (45 children)

Absolutely brilliant that this vaccine and others like it were researched, put into trial, and produced in record time. Distribution is key now, creating and keeping efficiency within the supply chain has been a monumental task.

[–]alaninsitges 254 points255 points  (36 children)

The vaccine was ready in January, and took a weekend to develop, which just blows my mind. I really hope this new mRNA method is able to give us vaccines for other diseases so fast.

[–]Arbennig 86 points87 points  (26 children)

Yes , I read about this . 2 days ! Amazing . So less than a year of trials and testing to first vaccine . I believe the other vaccine is mRNA, but not the Oxford one .

[–]FarawayFairways 33 points34 points  (25 children)

The Moderna one I believed received significant warpspeed funding so will likely be ring fenced for America first (which is understandable). No one's said it in so many words, but it seems to have been a factor in deciding which one to buy though. It seems to have been a reason why overseas orders haven't been placed to same level as people simply don't trust the United States to deliver it

It transpires that the UK was the first country to actually place a bet on the BioNtech vaccine and make an order (wasn't aware of that until this morning). Manufacturing a sensitive vaccine in Belgium makes the logistics a helluva lot easier (still problematic of course, but not as challenging as it could have been)

It also sounds as if this challenge trial that was shceduled for January has now been re-purposed into a mix n match trial. It seems that they're going to trial whether you can receive the Oxford vaccine first (which is widely thought to contain some significant sterilising properties) with an mRNA vaccine taken later. I think this probably combines the two key questions ever since the first mRNA vaccines reported and exceeded all expectations

[–]AmputatorBotBOT 37 points38 points  (1 child)

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[–]koolaid1776 374 points375 points  (23 children)

This is the part in Plague Inc. where you make the virus as deadly as possible.

[–]KNBeaArthur 131 points132 points  (9 children)

Did we hit Greenland yet?

[–][deleted] 108 points109 points  (7 children)

Whoever was playing this game did a great job spreading but was ultimately fucked because it wasn’t deadly enough. THANK GOD. Now let’s take their phone away, smash it, and then throw it in the ocean. They are done playing.

[–]Doodle_Brush 35 points36 points  (3 children)

Until they get it on PC and mod it.

Happy 2021, y'all!

[–]goldengluvs 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Ports closed. FUCK.

[–][deleted] 52 points53 points  (5 children)

Thankfully, virus's aren't controlled by bored people playing video games on their phone on the toilet.

[–]SheeEttin 37 points38 points  (3 children)

Unless the universe is a simulation, in which case it probably is

[–][deleted] 644 points645 points  (67 children)

i bet bill gates is happy he can monitor the movements of this 90 year old woman.

oh wait, I'm not clinically retarded, of course I don't think that.

[–]jiggler69 103 points104 points  (2 children)

I'm not sure why, but that second sentence brought me to tears with how blunt it is

[–]Jord-UK 28 points29 points  (1 child)

It's the idea that a GP would say "your son is clinically retarded"

[–]InformalWish 66 points67 points  (12 children)

That's one thing I don't understand. The people saying this are using smart phones and have a Facebook account. What else could bill gates want to know about them?

[–]PrintShinji 26 points27 points  (7 children)

I just don't get it. Especially when people say its about the money he 'earns" from vaccines.

Do they know that if gates wanted more money he'd just call up Satya Nadella and raise the prices of their office licenses. Hell just make windows server VM's cost more.

[–]bonbam 7 points8 points  (2 children)

Ol' Bill just wants a safe full of vials of our blood type and stool, just like Professor Farnsworth

[–]Crackracket 35 points36 points  (8 children)

My uncle (a careworker) and two other extended family members (cancer specialist and cancer ward nurse) are getting their jabs this week.

[–]Amerizilian 10 points11 points  (0 children)

They really dropped the ball not giving the World's first vaccine to William Shakespeare!!!!

[–]iwillgeta168 29 points30 points  (5 children)

This is truly a huge achievement for the human race. This isn’t just about Coronavirus but it’s also about mRNA and the future of vaccines. We were confronted by a novel and deadly virus (relative to other respiratory viruses) and we poured money and resources into science AND SCIENCE WORKED. This is a true testament to science and what it can do for us.

[–]vitten23 42 points43 points  (7 children)

90 years old huh ?Hope she doesn't die from something unrelated the next few weeks or people are going to go apeshit.

[–]taleniekov 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Margaret Keenan...Remember the name!

And also those thousands of volunteers who were technically the first

[–]AlwaysSunnyDragRace 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I just hope I get to be safe until I can get it

[–]N00b5lay3r 80 points81 points  (7 children)

BREAKING NEWS - REPORTS OF VIOLENT RIOTING AND ACTS OF CANNIBALISM BY THE SEEMINGLY DEAD

...lets go down to the Winchester with a pint and wait for this to all blow over...

[–]thats_hella_cool 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The second person vaccinated in Coventry was William Shakespeare, 81, from Warwickshire, who said he was "pleased" to be given the jab and hospital staff had been "wonderful".

Of course it bloody was.

[–]Chizy67 19 points20 points  (5 children)

Let’s make 2021 a celebration of humanity and kindness after this shitshow of a year.

[–]dm319 22 points23 points  (5 children)

I work at this hospital. In my clinic this morning we offered it to three other eligible patients. One took up the offer and has had it, the other two declined.

[–]57hz 91 points92 points  (18 children)

To be fair, this is not the first patient to receive the vaccine. It’s just the first patient outside the 15k people in the non-control group of the Phase 3 trials.

[–]-azafran- 82 points83 points  (16 children)

However they have said the U.K. have plans for 800,000 over the next days/weeks. That’s pretty big news

[–]MrStealYourFrog 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Slowly but surely my hopes of getting absolutely shitfaced in a club next year rise and rise more.

[–]swambol 155 points156 points  (46 children)

While this is amazing news, I think the important thing to remember is we are not out of the woods yet. Even when mass vaccinations start to happen, its going to take a long time for someone like myself to get it.

We will still need to socially distance and wear masks for a good part of next year. Lets just hope people don't relax too much, its been a shit year but let's get a cross the finish line.

[–]bezzzerk 78 points79 points  (10 children)

Currently in the U.K. the message is “don’t overwhelm the nhs” so come spring/summer we’re packing this shit in mate.

[–]swambol 17 points18 points  (8 children)

I'm agree mate and hopeful this is the case. I'm from Cardiff and feel exactly the same as you, but what I wouldnt want to see is a spike of deaths (regardless how accurate the reporting may be) just before we are out of this shit.

[–]bezzzerk 20 points21 points  (7 children)

Of course not, but being from Cardiff I’m sure you’re aware that the “firebreak” lockdown didn’t seem to achieve much, which to me indicates we’re right near the end of public compliance.

[–]Jlw2001 11 points12 points  (1 child)

It was absolutely heaving in town the other week. Every spoons had a queue so long nobody else could queue because of social distancing.

[–]BloomEPU 50 points51 points  (10 children)

Can I keep my mask on anyway I like when people don't recognise me