Grandmother, 91, who had world’s first Pfizer jab meets giraffe namesake

Margaret Keenan, the world’s first recipient of a Covid-19 vaccination, has met a giraffe calf named after her at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

Mrs Keenan, 91, met five-month-old giraffe Margaret, alongside the calf’s mother Luna, and the rest of the herd.

“We are so delighted that the two very special Margarets have finally been able to meet face-to-face,” chief operating officer at the zoo, Owen Craft said.

“One is a breeding success story for an endangered species, while the other is the first person to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, but both Margarets remind us of a brighter future after a difficult year.”

The reticulated giraffe was born at the zoo on December 8, the same day as Mrs Keenan was given the world’s first Covid-19 vaccination in Coventry.

Whipsnade Zoo decided to name the calf Margaret in honour of the landmark moment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a Zoom call in April with NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens the nonagenarian said: “I feel really honoured to have it done and to be the first and set the ball rolling.

“I think the NHS has achieved an enormous lot by doing the work they do… it is such a wonderful institution.”