Wipe used before Margaret Kennan's second COVID-19 dose

Sterile wipe used for to prepare Margaret Keenan’s arm prior to her second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on 29 December 2020 at University Hospital Coventry

The COVID-19 vaccine created by Pfizer in collaboration with BioNTech was developed, tested and approved in less than a year. It works by introducing into the body a messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence that contains the genetic instructions for the vaccinated person’s own cells to produce the vaccine antigens and generate an immune response – priming the body for a COVID-19 infection. It was the first vaccine using mRNA technology to be approved for human use.

Before a vaccine is delivered, a person's arm is cleaned with an alcohol based wipe, just like Margaret Kennan's second dose on 29 December 2020. Margaret received her first at the start of the UK's vaccination role out on 8 December 2020. At the time, doses were recommended to be three weeks apart but advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) changed on 30 December 2020 to make vaccines more accessible to a wider number of people on the priority list.

Vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the spread of the virus, diminishing the severity of illness and lowering incidences of death caused by COVID-19. The vaccine was approved in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 2nd December 2020, becoming the first COVID-19 vaccine approved for general use.