As the United Kingdom continues its rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, Buckingham Palace has revealed that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have both been vaccinated.
On Saturday, a spokesperson from Buckingham Palace confirmed, “The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have today received COVID-19 vaccinations.” Meanwhile, a royal source revealed that a household doctor at Windsor Castle, where the queen and her husband have been residing throughout much of the pandemic, administered the vaccines.
It was recently announced that the United Kingdom plans to delay necessary second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by up to twelve weeks, despite there being no evidence to support such a long interim. According to the BBC, “Pfizer said it has tested the vaccine’s efficacy only when the two doses were given up to 21 days apart.” The U.K. is currently rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines, both of which require a second dose to ensure efficacy.
In December 2020, The Sunday Times reported that the queen and her husband “will receive the jab in line with the [U.K.] government’s roll-out.” While the queen is 94-years-old, Prince Philip is 99, placing them both in one of the more vulnerable age groups when it comes to COVID-19.
Due to the ongoing nature of the pandemic, the queen recently took the decision to cancel all Buckingham Palace garden parties in 2021. A royal spokesperson confirmed to BAZAAR.com, “The decision has been taken that garden parties will not take place in 2021.”
Source: Harper’s Bazaar