Another Filipina has placed our country on the world map. She has joined the ranks of famous achievers—the first and only Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and the first Filipino to win the Nobel Peace Prize, journalist Maria Ressa. This time, a Filipina health worker based in the United Kingdom, May Parsons, has brought unprecedented honor to the Philippines when she received the George Cross Award from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles of England on July 12, 2020. May received the prestigious decoration at Windsor Castle on behalf of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), to which she has been affiliated. As announced by the Royal Family, the George Cross Award is the highest civilian award for courage and bravery. King George VI first conferred it in 1940 to honor exceptional courage and heroism by non-military groups or individuals.
The rapid development of an effective vaccine against Covid-19 was an unprecedented scientific achievement. Its production raised the hope to stop the spread of the lethal virus, and countries throughout the world have raced against time to launch massive vaccination programs.
The widest vaccine campaign kicked off at 6:31 a.m. on December 8, 2020 to a 90-year-old British grandmother, Margaret Keenan at University Hospital, Coventry, England, where May has been working since 2003. After receiving the shot, Keenan, who was celebrating her 91st birthday a week later, proclaimed: “I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19, it’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year. I cannot thank May and the NHS staff enough who have looked after me tremendously, and my advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it—if I can have it at 90 then you can have it too.”
Margaret was not only a brave woman but she was the biggest endorser of the vaccine. On the other hand, by administering the first Covid-19 vaccine, May made history, which every Filipino can be proud of. NHS Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens said: “Less than a year after the first case of this new disease was diagnosed, the NHS has now delivered the first clinically approved Covid-19 vaccination—that is a remarkable achievement. My colleagues across the health service are rightly proud of this historic moment as we lead in deploying the vaccine.”
For her part, May said: “It’s a huge honor to be the first person in the country to deliver a Covid-19 jab to a patient. I’m just glad that I’m able to play a part in this historic day.” She also commended and thanked her colleagues at the hospital for their dedication and hard work. She profusely praised the other frontline workers who were not daunted by the deadly pandemic. She acknowledged that the award was also for all of them.
Despite the recognition, May was ever so humble, gracious, and typically a Filipina. Maybe it’s only after she was handed the George Cross Award personally by the Queen, accompanied by Prince Charles, that May realized the enormous significance of her service to humanity.
May completed her nursing degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 2000. After working at the UST Hospital for three years, she left the Philippines in 2003 to work in the UK. She joined the NHS and has been with the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire since her arrival in the UK in 2003. She is presently a Modern Matron for Respiratory Services in the said hospitals. Since May administered the first vaccine shot, the NHS has provided over 125 million Covid-19 vaccinations in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Administering the shots poses risks to the health workers as they get exposed to the virus. The news reported that when the Queen met May for the awarding, Her Majesty joked with May, and asked, “You’re still alive?” May was only given a one-day warning before giving the history-making shot, but she was more than equal to the task. Upon knowing who would be her patient, May paid Keenan a visit to keep her at ease. May knew that there was a lot of anxiety and pressure since the vaccine was still new and there were some negative write-ups about the vaccine. To build up Keenan’s confidence, she advised Keenan to wear her favorite dress and appropriate hair-do. And the old lady just loved baring her arm to the needle for the world to see.
Last September 2021, May and Keenan got reunited when the latter received her booster shot. They hugged for the cameras and exchanged pleasantries. “I’m happy now that I can be free, it’s like the good old times. It was great to have May here, we have become a double act! It was such big news all around the world.” Then she added: “Go and get the jab, it will save your life. I don’t really know what stops people from having it because it’s so quick. Do go and get your vaccination.”
And May could only nod her head in total agreement. No two individuals have given the Covid-19 vaccination drive a bigger boost. This should get them another award!
Over 30,000 Filipino health workers, most of them nurses, are based in the UK. After the British and Indians, the Filipinos constitute the third largest ethnic group in the country’s NHS, which has a workforce of 1.5 million. This was not lost on the British envoy to the Philippines, Laure Beaufils, who said that the George Cross awarded to May on behalf of the NHS is “a recognition of her courage, compassion, and dedication and indeed that of the incredible Filipino staff in the NHS.” In her acceptance speech, May acknowledged that “the George Cross is really a wonderful recognition of the bravery of our staff, of the courage that they’ve displayed throughout, and also their passion and compassion in everything that we do, and putting our patients first.”
While the pandemic is not yet a thing of the past, health authorities can now claim that Covid-19 can be contained through massive and effective vaccination. Incumbent NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard, who accompanied May in the awarding ceremony, stated: “We would not be where we are today without the efforts of May and countless others who went above and beyond to roll out the vaccine at speed and precision.” Now, Filipinos can all look back with great pride to that historic event on the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception in 2020 as the crucial turning point in the war against the dreaded virus, which has devastated our entire planet. And the name of a Filipina nurse, May Parsons, who administered the shot felt ’round the world, will be forever associated with it.