Queen Elizabeth urges people to trust covid-19 vaccine, says ‘it didn’t hurt at all

Britain’s queen Elizabeth II has advised people to get vaccinated against coronavirus if they have the access to it. She said that people must think about other people who are vulnerable to the virus and should get the vaccine administered in a bid to curb the virus.

The monarch, 94, and the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, had received the vaccine shots in January.

The Queen was talking to the health authorities via a video conference wherein she shared her experience of taking the vaccine shot. “Well, as far as I can make out it was quite harmless,” she said.v

“It was very quick, and I’ve had lots of letters from people who have been very surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine.”

She added: “It didn’t hurt at all.”

Emily Lawson, who is leading the vaccine deployment programme for the NHS in England, said the Queen’s comments about her vaccine experience were an “incredibly important vote of confidence in the programme”.

“We just want to make sure we create the conditions where everybody feels able to take up the offer of a vaccination when they’re called,” she said.

“And Her Majesty offering her view on that is a huge boost to our confidence and I hope to confidence more broadly in the programme.”

The Queen also said the speed of the UK’s vaccination rollout had been “remarkable” so far.

More than 18 million people have had a first vaccine dose – equivalent to one in three adults in the UK.