Public Health England vaccine card stamped with ‘Covid 19 Pfizer Biontech’ stapled to a NHS and Public Health England Leaflet, titled ‘COVID-19 vaccination guide for adults’, of the type used during COVID-19 vaccination work at University Hospital Coventry, England, 2020-2021.

Every person who received a dose of a COVID-19 was given a card which had their name, the type of vaccine they received, the batch number and the date. A space remained for their second dose. All the information was also recorded digitally.

Information about the vaccine roll out was given to people prior and during their appointment in leaflets, online, on television and on radio.

The UK COVID-19 vaccination programme started on 8 December 2020 with Matron May Parsons, administering then 90 year old Margaret Keenan’s first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at University Coventry Hospital. At the start of the roll out, only one vaccine was available – created by Pfizer in collaboration with BioNTech. In less than a year, the vaccine was developed, tested and approved. The United Kingdom through Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 2 December 2020 the was the first country in the world to approve its use.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine 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 an infection from COVID-19. It is the first vaccine using mRNA technology approved for human use.

Up to April 2022, six COVID-19 vaccines have been approved for use in the United Kingdom made by Oxford/AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Novavax and Valneva.