LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth, who received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine last month, has urged the public to follow suit, saying no. it hurt and those who were careful should think about others.
The monarch and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip, currently in hospital with a non-COVID infection, received their photographs from a home doctor at the Queen’s Windsor Castle residence, with their age being placed in the priority group for England coronavirus vaccine distribution.
“As soon as you have been vaccinated you feel that you know, you are protected which I think is very important and as far as I can make out it was very harmless. , ”The queen said in a video call with health officials monitoring inoculations across the four nations of the United Kingdom.
“It was very quick, and I have received many letters from people who have amazed me at how easy it has been to get vaccinated. And the injection – it didn’t hurt at all, ”she said, likening the virus to a plague.
More than 18.6 million Britons have received their first COVID-19 vaccine injection, and celebrities such as singer Elton John and actor Michael Caine have taken part in campaigns encouraging people to get offers for get the bullet.
The British vaccination minister said this week that between 11% and 15% of the population were skeptical about getting the bullet, especially among ethnic minorities, among conspiracy theories about the lies.
“It is difficult for people who have never been vaccinated because they should think about people other than themselves,” said the queen, who described the spread of the vaccine in Britain, one of those world’s fastest, as “amazing”
Other members of the royal family, including the heir to the throne Prince Charles and his son Prince William, have been visiting vaccination centers over the past fortnight to thank to employees and volunteers for their work.
It comes, however, amid concerns about the health of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who was admitted to hospital in London last week and has spent nine nights there. receiving medical attention for an undiagnosed disease.
The palace has said Philip, who turns 100 in June, was comfortable and coping with treatment, but is likely to stay in hospital for several days. A royal source said the prince was expected to stay in hospital for a second weekend.
On Tuesday, the Duke and the queen’s youngest son Prince Edward said he was “much better”, and the day before William said his grandfather was “OK”.
Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Alistair Bell and Mark Potter