William Shakespeare died in hospital aged 81 after suffering a stroke less than six months after publicly receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Bill, as he was known, made global headlines on December 8th 2020 when he received the jab at the University Hospital Coventry shortly after 91-year-old Margaret Keenan.
BBC reports: Coventry councillor Jayne Innes, a friend of Mr Shakespeare, said he had died on Thursday and added the “best tribute to Bill is to have the jab”.
Mr Shakespeare had worked at Rolls-Royce and was a parish councillor.
The 81-year-old, who had served his local community in Allesley for more than three decades, died of a stroke, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said.
Mr Shakespeare, who had lived in Brownshill Green, was an inpatient on the hospital’s frailty ward at the time of his first jab, and said it had been “wonderful”.
In a tribute, released through the trust, his wife, Joy, said: “Bill was so grateful for being offered the opportunity to become one of the first people in the world to be given the vaccine.
“It was something he was hugely proud of – he loved seeing the media coverage and the positive difference he was able to make to the lives of so many.
“He often talked to people about it and would always encourage everyone to get their vaccine whenever he could.”
As well as his wife of 53 years, Mr Shakespeare leaves their two adult sons and grandchildren.