Queen Elizabeth II and husband Prince Philip receive COVID-19 vaccinations
STEFAN WERMUTH/POOL PHOTO VIA AP / 2016
Britain’s Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II bid farewell to Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos, and his wife Maria Clemencia de Santos, following their state visit, at Buckingham Palace in London. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband have received their COVID-19 vaccinations. Buckingham Palace officials said in a statement that the 94-year-old monarch and 99-year-old Prince Philip received their jabs, joining some 1.5 million people in Britain who have been given the first dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
People cross the Millennium Bridge with St. Paul’s Cathedral in the background in London during England’s third national lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
LONDON >> Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, have received their COVID-19 vaccinations, royal officials said today.
Buckingham Palace officials said in a statement that the 94-year-old monarch and Philip, 99, received their jabs today, joining some 1.5 million people in Britain who have been given a first dose of a vaccine.
The injections were administered at Windsor Castle, where the queen and her husband have been spending their time during the lockdown in England.
Royal officials said they took the rare step of commenting on the monarch’s health in order to prevent inaccuracies and further speculation. The queen “decided that she would let it be known she has had the vaccination,” the palace statement said.
On Dec. 8, Britain became the world’s first country to begin a mass vaccination drive against the coronavirus. The government says it is aiming to deliver the first vaccine doses to some 15 million people in the top priority groups by the middle of February.
That includes everyone over age 70, as well as frontline health care workers, care home residents and anyone whose health makes them especially vulnerable to the virus.
