William Shakespeare, the first man in Britain to receive an approved Covid vaccine, dies at 81.

William Shakespeare, the first man in Britain to receive an approved Covid vaccine, dies at 81.

William Shakespeare, the man with a famous name who inspired headline writers across Britain last year when he became the second person in the country to receive a coronavirus vaccine, has died after suffering a stroke, his family said in a statement. He was 81.

Since Mr. Shakespeare was vaccinated on Dec. 8 at University Hospital, Coventry, in central England, 57 percent of Britain’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

On Tuesday, people older than 30 in Britain became eligible to receive a vaccine.

In a statement released through the hospital where Mr. Shakespeare was vaccinated, his wife of 53 years, Joy, said he had been grateful for becoming one of the first people to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“It was something he was hugely proud of,” she said. “He loved seeing the media coverage and the positive difference he was able to make to the lives of so many.”