“A tiny little bit apprehensive – but mainly absolutely delighted and thrilled that it’s here and I’m getting it.” That’s how one of the world’s first people in line to receive the new coronavirus vaccine is approaching things as it begins to be administered to people in Britain on Tuesday. Katie Stewart, 37, is a consultant anaesthetist at the Borders general hospital on the outskirts of Melrose in Scotland. Her work treating Covid patients in intensive care, and her upcoming role as a coronavirus vaccinator, makes her eligible for one of the 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine available in the UK. “I hope this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic,” Stewart told the Guardian. Last week Britain’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), became the first in the western world to approve the vaccine. The UK has bought 40m doses, enough for 20m people, but most are expected to arrive next year. The first doses are destined for care home staff and residents, people aged 80 and over and frontline NHS workers. Stewart said that while the vaccine marked a welcome milestone in tackling coronavirus, she hoped the impact would be felt more widely. “It’s not just about Covid, it’s about people in care homes enjoying their last days with their family, and having a quality of life,” she said. “There are people with cancer who are unable to be with their families, having to isolate at home for months and months. There are people who are so lonely, they’ve taken their lives. “I hope we can start to look forward to doing all the things we love again, being with our family, going on holidays, and enjoying life.” Because of patient confidentiality, Stewart could not disclose how many patients she had treated, or was continuing to treat, for coronavirus. But she said that at its peak, her intensive care unit had been “much busier than it had ever been in its 30-year history”. “When our first patients came in, we didn’t know how the disease was transmitted and we were all terrified,” she said. “I’ve never felt so out of control at work before. The first wave passed, and we were all pleased we got through it, but there was no end to the sadness. We still have patients with Covid-19 coming into hospital, and into intensive care.” Stewart said she understood that people had concerns about being immunised and didn’t “think people are silly for feeling nervous” – but she trusted those behind the vaccine and felt that “the benefits far outweigh the risks”. “It’s alright to be nervous and ask questions,” she said, “but I think this is a great opportunity.”