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Take a butcher’s at this: 90-year-old George gets covid jab

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George Dyer, aged 90, a retired butcher from Croydon, was the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine at Mayday Hospital this morning.

George Dyer getting his coronavirus vaccine at Mayday this morning

He is thought to be the first Londoner to be vaccinated against the deadly virus.

Dyer was interviewed by Sky News this morning. A hospital volunteer, he said he felt “very privileged” to be the first of the city’s 9 million residents to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.

“It’s terrific,” he said. He said that the vaccine made him feel as though “I’m about to be given a new lease of life.

“I miss people,” he said. “Being enclosed in your home you don’t see people.

“Fortunately I’ve got friends who telephone me so I keep in touch. But the mere thought of being able to walk round the shops – it’s lovely.

“I love Christmas time: going round the shops and listening to the music and seeing all the goodies.”

Croydon’s Mayday Hospital is one of 50 NHS hubs around the country where the vaccination process is being rolled out.

Dyer, and those others who have been called forward under the programme, will need to return in 21 days for a booster jab to complete their immunisation against covid-19. Dyer will then, for the first time in nine months, be able to meet up with friends and family once again.

The past year had been very challenging, Dyer said. “You just get on with life, don’t you?” he said.

“You know, I’m very fortunate in that I love music, I love jigsaw puzzles, I like reading, so I’m very fortunate.”


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