The Duke of Cambridge has said he is “very proud” of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh after they received their COVID-19 vaccinations last week. The admission from Prince William came during an online discussion with NHS staff and volunteers where he also praised the “monumental” success of the COVID vaccination programme so far.
During the chat with five NHS representatives from across the country, Prince William was told of there being a certain amount of vaccine hesitancy across the country. Speaking of the hesitancy, Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement, commented, “We do have vaccine hesitancy in some groups. It is really important to get into communities, ethnically diverse communities, and more deprived communities to say this is your vaccine as well, it’s for everyone, not just for some communities.”
💉🇬🇧 Thank you to all the staff and volunteers across the country working to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are protected from coronavirus 👏 pic.twitter.com/4gbXBligcp
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) January 16, 2021
Last Saturday, Buckingham Palace revealed that The Queen and Prince Philip had received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccine at Windsor Castle. The vaccines were administered by a royal household doctor and it is believed that The Queen wanted the news announced so as to prevent further speculation and any misinformation.
Speaking of The Queen and Prince Philip’s vaccines, The Duke of Cambridge said, “My grandparents have had the vaccine and I am very proud of them for doing that. It is really important that everyone gets the vaccine when they are told to. Huge congratulations to all of you for playing your part in such a monumental moment, frankly, to roll out this vaccine. I think it is a hugely proud moment for the NHS and for the UK being able to achieve such a massive task.”
On Sunday it was revealed that the NHS was administering 140 jabs a minute with just under four million doses having been administered already. It is expected that 15 million people will have had their first dose by mid-February.