A Golders Green grandmother was the first person to get the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at the Royal Free Hospital.

Ham & High: Josephine hopes she'll be able to hug her family after her second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. Picture: Royal FreeJosephine hopes she'll be able to hug her family after her second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. Picture: Royal Free (Image: Archant)

With the biggest vaccination programme the NHS has ever seen beginning around the country on Tuesday, Josephene Faleye, 80, was the first to get the jab at the Royal Free.

With four children and four grandchildren she’s desperate to hug, Josephine was delighted to get the first dose of the vaccine.

She will get a top up dose in three weeks.

READ MORE: ‘It’s more important than ever’: Whittington midwife urges pregnant women to get flu jabJosephine said she was excited to be first in line, and added: “I’m happy to have it and I hope that if people see me having it at the age of 80, it will encourage them to have it too.

“During the first wave, I didn’t see my children and grandchildren properly for about six months so it’s been a difficult year. I’m really looking forward to being able to hug my grandchildren again.”

The Royal Free London NHS Trust’s chief nurse Julie Hamilton, said being able to offer the vaccine was a “huge privilege”.

“I would like to thank all the staff at the Royal Free London who have helped make this happen in such a short period of time. We are all proud to be a part of this historic moment.

She warned the public to keep following the rules though, with it still likely to take months before the majority of the population has been vaccinated.

The first set of people to get the jab are patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay.

Care home providers are being asked to book staff in for jabs too, with GPs soon to begin giving the jab to care home residents.

Any spare capacity will first go to healthcare workers who are at highest risk of serious illness from Covid-19.

Delivering the Pfizer vaccine is a huge logistical challenge for the NHS as it needs to be stored at -70 degrees celsius and there are limits on the number of times it can be moved once thawed.

At least two further vaccines are expected to be approved in coming weeks.