William Shakespeare, the first man in the world to have an approved Covid jab, has died in hospital aged 81 after a long battle with an unrelated illness.
Bill, as he was known, made global headlines on December 8 when he received the Pfizer/BioNTech jab at the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.
At the time, much was played on the fact that he was called William Shakespeare and was from Warwickshire, but the pensioner was a fiercely proud Coventrian according to his friends.
Mr Shakespeare, a former Rolls Royce employee and parish councillor, passed away after a period of illness on Thursday at the same hospital where he famously received his vaccine.
When he received the Pfizer jab last year he had been an in-patient at the hospital’s frailty ward. His picture appeared on front pages across the world – much to both his and his family’s delightHe said after getting the historic drug: ‘I need to say, the staff at this hospital are wonderful.’
The poignant image of him dressed in festive slippers with his hospital gown became a symbol of home amid the dark days of lockdown.
He was the second person in the world to receive the vaccine, after Maggie Keenan, 90 on the occasion, which had been nicknamed V-Day.
The human trials of mRNA vaccines – involving tens of thousands of people worldwide – had been going on since early 2020 to show whether they are safe and effective before the public received jab.
Mr Shakespeare had been believed to be related to the Bard, his family claimed in the days after the jab.
His niece Emily Shakespeare, a PhD candidate at Waterford Institute of Technology in Ireland, said relatives thought the connection was very likely.
Maggie Keenan, 90, became the first to receive her jab by Matron May Parsons
She tweeted at the time: ‘Around 86 per cent sure we are. Bill’s ancestors closely follow Coventry’s past with the industry there. And I have glimpsed a connection with the ‘Kerseley branch’ of the Bard’s descendants.’
Ms Shakespeare added that her uncle was ‘English through and through’, and there was no link to Ireland.
His sad death was being mourned not only by his family but the many people he came into contact with today as news of his passing was revealed.
Funeral details have yet to be arranged.
MailOnline