The first man in the world to be given a coronavirus vaccine has died of an unrelated illness, Wales Online reported Wednesday.
Bill Shakespeare, 81, received his first COVID-19 vaccine at the University Hospital Coventry in December. The first woman to get the vaccine was Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old British grandmother.
Shakespeare died Thursday after suffering a stroke, according to Wales Online. A resident of Coventry, Shakespeare had worked at Rolls Royce and served as a parish councilor for many years in the Allesley community.
"Bill was so grateful for being offered the opportunity to become one of the first people in the world to be given the vaccine," Shakespeare's wife Joy said in a statement.
"He often talked to people about it and would always encourage everyone to get their vaccine whenever he could," Joy said. The couple have two adult sons and grandchildren.
Tributes poured in for Shakespeare. He was remembered fondly as a "much-loved figure" in the Coventry Labour Party.
Jayne Innes, a 30-year Whoberley ward councilor who worked closely with Shakespeare, said he was a "keen photographer, loved jazz, and the natural world and gardens."
"His decades of service to the party were recently recognized by Keir Starmer. Our thoughts are with Joy and Bill's family & friends," the West Midlands Labour Party said in a tweet.
Shakespeare made headlines Dec. 8 after getting immunized at University Hospital Coventry, just 20 miles from the famous playwright's birthplace of Stratford-Upon-Avon, the New York Post said.
Some on social media referred to the vaccination as "The Taming of the Flu," a reference to author William Shakespeare's 16th-century play "The Taming of the Shrew."
