Queen, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, received Covid vaccine at Windsor Castle today, Buckingham Palace announces
THE Queen and Prince Philip were given their first Covid jabs at breakfast yesterday.
They had their initial dose of the vaccine, made by Oxford-AstraZeneca, from a doctor at Windsor Castle.
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Insiders said the Queen, 94, and Philip, 99, had been happy to wait their turn.
They then accepted an offer to receive it at the end of the week as they both met government age guidelines.
A doctor from the Royal Household visited to administer the jab mid-morning after the couple sat down for breakfast.
It was not confirmed which vaccine they got but it is believed to be the British-made jab. Both suffered no side-effects.
A source said: “The Queen and Duke were not in a rush and did not ask for special treatment and had the vaccine only when it was available locally. They waited their turn like everyone else.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the news was a boost in the fight against the killer virus.
He tweeted: “I’m delighted Her Majesty the Queen & HRH the Duke of Edinburgh have received their COVID vaccine. We are defeating this virus jab by jab.”
HMS BUBBLE
The Queen decided to make the news public yesterday afternoon to avoid speculation, the Sun on Sunday was told.
Palace officials have repeatedly refused to comment on when they would receive their vaccines.
But a royal insider said it was hoped yesterday’s announcement could reassure many.
They said: “Both the Queen and Philip made it clear they didn’t want preferential treatment when it came to getting their jabs.
“There is a feeling among some courtiers that, by having the jab, they will do much good work to ease the fears of the nation at a time of widespread worry.”
They will get a second dose in 12 weeks. The couple will remain in their HMS Bubble at Windsor Castle, where they moved to from Buckingham Palace last year.
They are among the estimated 1.5million to have received a vaccine against the virus which has killed more than 80,000 Brits.
More than one in four over-80s have now had a jab.
The first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was given in Oxford on Monday to dialysis patient Brian Pinker, 82.
More than half a million were administered on the first day of the mass roll-out.
Maj leads the way
By Dickie Arbiter, royal expert
THE Queen has always led by example.
Who can forget her words last April when the country was trying to come to terms with the first lockdown: “We will see our friends again, we will see our families again, we will meet again”.
Having worked for and with HM for a number of years I know her for her pragmatism and doing what is right.
So it comes as no surprise that the most iconic couple in the UK are leading the way by being among the first to have the Oxford vaccine.
The Queen is once again showing our nation we all have a role to play and what we must all do to get our lives back to some semblance of normality.
Other royals in line for the jab include the Duke of Kent, 85.
Prince Charles, 72, and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, 73, will also soon be eligible.
On a visit to a vaccination centre at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital before Christmas, Charles said he was “way down the list”.
The Queen and Philip made it clear they absolutely didn’t want preferential treatment when it came to getting their jabs.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted yesterday: “Royal Family have been vaccinated. A good day becomes a great day.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have today received Covid-19 vaccinations.”
It is not the first time Her Majesty has been involved in a mass immunisation programme.
In 1957, she ordered son Charles and daughter Anne to be given polio jabs to counter widespread concern about their safety.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to vaccinate 13 million people against Covid by February 15.
Ministers also have vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna approved by regulators. On December 9, Margaret Keenan, 90, became the first person in the world to be vaccinated outside a trial, when she got the Pfizer jab in Coventry.
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Clive Dix, chair of the Government’s Vaccines Taskforce, has 350 million doses of vaccine on order.
He said: “This is a key moment in the pandemic and the UK is in an incredibly strong position having backed the most promising vaccines early on, giving our citizens the best chance of coming out of this as soon as possible.”
The Sun on Sunday says
THE Queen’s Covid jab is a shot in the arm for the whole nation.
With one swift action, she has done more to reassure Brits that the vaccine is safe than any number of expert pronouncements.
It is not the first time the 94-year-old monarch has been called upon to lead the way in times of trouble.
Like her “we will meet again” speech, the personal gesture comes as the country faces one of its bleakest moments. But it also points to our escape route from the pandemic’s clutches.
And fittingly it is believed she was given the Oxford-developed AstraZeneca vaccine, which the PM has hailed as “a triumph of British science”.
We can only hope that officials follow the Queen’s shining example.
NHS pen-pushers are failing to match her pioneering spirit and are bogged down in red tape. While volunteers keen to help give jabs fill in lengthy questionnaires to meet Whitehall’s tick-box culture, the virus runs amok.
The UK’s huge death toll must wake them up to the fact lives depend on vaccinations more than diversity quotas.
Our hospitals are at breaking point and reports from the front line are harrowing.
The Government is pinning its hopes on three measures: rolling out vaccinations at speed, regular tests for key workers and enforcing the lockdown.
But the whole establishment needs to work faster to protect the vulnerable and then those who have to go out to work.
So we welcome new efforts to protect key workers by giving them free tests when they clock on.
It is these lower-paid staff, from hospital porters to supermarket stackers and bus drivers, who keep the country going.
Keeping them healthy must be a higher priority than slapping fines on people who drive a couple of miles for a walk.
Her Majesty’s self-sacrifice and sense of duty should be an example to us all.
Now the rest of them need to follow her example – and get on with the jab.
