Health Secretary Matt Hancock wiped away tears in a live television interview after the first British patients were vaccinated against coronavirus.
Mr Hancock, whose step-grandfather died from coronavirus, said 2020 had been a “tough year for everybody” but hope was on the horizon.
He became emotional when listening to an interview with William Shakespeare, 81, from Warwickshire.
Mr Shakespeare, who was the second British patient to receive the shot, said the benefits outweighed the risks.
Mr Hancock said the man, who shares a name with Britain’s greatest playwright, summed up the health message nicely.
He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "It's been such a tough year for so many people and there's William Shakespeare putting it so simply for everybody.
"I've still got this worry, we can't blow it now ... but there's so much work that's gone into this, it makes you proud to be British."
This month, Mr Hancock told the House of Commons during a debate on the government's three-tier restrictions that his great-grandfather Derek had died from Covid-19.
