BFF-39 Queen, Prince Philip given Covid-19 jab as UK cases top 3 mn

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HEALTH-VIRUS-BRITAIN

Queen, Prince Philip given Covid-19 jab as UK cases top 3 mn

LONDON, Jan 9, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and
her husband Prince Philip received Covid-19 vaccinations on Saturday,
Buckingham Palace said, as the country surpassed three million cases
since the pandemic began last year.

A source told the domestic Press Association news agency that the
94-year-old queen and Philip, 99, were given the injections by a royal
household doctor at Windsor Castle.

“The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have today received Covid-19
vaccinations,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said, in a rare public
comment on the private health matters of the long-serving monarch.

It is understood the queen decided the information should be made
public to prevent inaccuracies and speculation.

No further details about the vaccinations were released.

The queen and Philip have spent much of the pandemic in
self-isolation at Windsor because of their advanced age, and this year
cancelled their traditional family Christmas at her Sandringham estate
in eastern England.

More than 1.5 million people in Britain have so far received virus
jabs, as the biggest immunisation programme in its history ramps up
with priority given to the elderly, their carers and health workers.

The country, which has so far begun administering two types of
approved vaccines, is racing to inoculate as many people as possible
as a coronavirus variant pushes infections and deaths to unprecedented
levels.

Britain on Saturday passed the grim milestone of three million
cases during the pandemic, after the government announced another
59,937 new cases.

It also recorded another 1,035 fatalities from the virus, taking
the total death toll to 80,868, one of the highest in Europe alongside
Italy.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a third stay-at-home order at
the start of the week as cases continue to spiral since Christmas.

Medical chiefs are racing to boost treatment capacity as hospitals
risked being overwhelmed, while the government steps up its mass
inoculation campaign.

It is banking on the rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech and
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines to halt the spread of the virus.

UK regulators also this week approved US firm Moderna’s Covid
vaccine — the third to be authorised for use across the country.

The government aims to have inoculated 15 million of the most
vulnerable groups, including frontline NHS staff, by mid-February, and
has deployed the armed forces to help with the rollout.

BSS/AFP/MRU/2346hrs