67-year old man first to get Coronavirus vaccine in Norway
The Local - [email protected]
Published: 27 Dec, 2020 CET.
Updated: Sun 27 Dec 2020 13:47 CET
A 67-year old man on Sunday morning became the first person in Norway to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, saying afterward that he felt like "Armstrong landing on the moon".
Svein Andersen, a resident of the Ellingsrudhjemmet elderly care home in Oslo, received his injection at 12.05am.
"There was no pain whatsoever, no more than with any other vaccine," he told the country's VG newspaper after receiving the jab. "It was a bit strange, almost a bit historic, a bit like when Armstrong went on the moon."
Before the injection, Anderson had spoken to Norway's prime minister, Erna Solberg, over a video link.
"This is a day we've been awaiting for 291 days, ever since March 12th when we had to put in place severe measures in Norway," she said.
"This is a day of liberation. Because we are liberating ourselves from this virus. Now we have the vaccine, we can get back our every day life again."
Addressing Andersen, she said, "You will be a symbol of the start of vaccinations."
Over the next few days, all 146 residents in his home will be vaccinated, along with 5,000 residents at elderly care homes in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
Vaccinations are also due to begin on December 28th in Hvaler, Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg, Strange, Hamar, and Ringsaker.
The country received 9,750 doses on December 27th.
Here is a video showing the vaccination taking place.
Nå er det gjort: Svein (67) fikk Norges første Corona vaksine kl 12 i dag. pic.twitter.com/8sge6yvSRH
— Leif Eide (@eideleif) December 27, 2020
EU commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed the start of the European Union's vaccination campaign as a "touching moment of unity and a European success story".
Countries are showing different strategies in their vaccination targeting, with Italy focusing on health workers, France the elderly and in the Czech Republic the prime minister himself at the front of the queue.
In a sign of impatience, some EU countries began vaccinating on Saturday, a day before the official start, with a 101-year-old woman in a care home becoming the first person in Germany to be inoculated and Hungary and Slovakia also handing out their first shots.
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Svein Andersen, a resident of the Ellingsrudhjemmet elderly care home in Oslo, received his injection at 12.05am.
"There was no pain whatsoever, no more than with any other vaccine," he told the country's VG newspaper after receiving the jab. "It was a bit strange, almost a bit historic, a bit like when Armstrong went on the moon."
Before the injection, Anderson had spoken to Norway's prime minister, Erna Solberg, over a video link.
"This is a day we've been awaiting for 291 days, ever since March 12th when we had to put in place severe measures in Norway," she said.
"This is a day of liberation. Because we are liberating ourselves from this virus. Now we have the vaccine, we can get back our every day life again."
Addressing Andersen, she said, "You will be a symbol of the start of vaccinations."
Over the next few days, all 146 residents in his home will be vaccinated, along with 5,000 residents at elderly care homes in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
Vaccinations are also due to begin on December 28th in Hvaler, Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg, Strange, Hamar, and Ringsaker.
The country received 9,750 doses on December 27th.
Here is a video showing the vaccination taking place.
Nå er det gjort: Svein (67) fikk Norges første Corona vaksine kl 12 i dag. pic.twitter.com/8sge6yvSRH
— Leif Eide (@eideleif) December 27, 2020
EU commission chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed the start of the European Union's vaccination campaign as a "touching moment of unity and a European success story".
Countries are showing different strategies in their vaccination targeting, with Italy focusing on health workers, France the elderly and in the Czech Republic the prime minister himself at the front of the queue.
In a sign of impatience, some EU countries began vaccinating on Saturday, a day before the official start, with a 101-year-old woman in a care home becoming the first person in Germany to be inoculated and Hungary and Slovakia also handing out their first shots.
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