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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
LONDON, UK – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will receive the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech in a few weeks, after UK regulators grant emergency approval and the world’s first deployment begins next week, according to reports on Saturday night.
The 94-year-old monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, 99, are in line to receive the early jab due to their age and will not receive preferential treatment, the Mail on Sunday reported.
The newspaper said Britain’s top royals would reveal that they have been given the vaccine “to encourage more people to take the vital jab” amid fears that so-called anti-vaccines could take a toll on your enthusiasm.
Britain gave emergency approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, and health officials used criteria based on age and vulnerability to decide the order of people to receive it.
Nursing home residents and their caregivers will be vaccinated first, followed by those aged 80 and over and front-line health and care personnel.
Other older people and the clinically extremely vulnerable will be next, and the rest of the population will be prioritized by age.
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Daily Mirror also reported that a number of high-profile figures in Britain had publicly pledged to receive the vaccine in a bid to boost acceptance.
They include Monty Python star Michael Palin and Bob Geldof, the tabloid said.
Britain has reserved 40 million doses of the vaccine in total, and is scheduled to receive an initial batch of 800,000 to begin rollout next week.
Regulators were forced to defend their first global approval on Wednesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, insisting that it met all safety standards after US and European officials questioned the speedy process.
Meanwhile, plans are reportedly being stepped up to ensure that any complications arising from the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31 do not affect their implementation.
The vaccine will be manufactured at Pfizer’s plant in Puurs, Belgium, and must be transported on temperature-controlled thermal conveyors using dry ice.
The Observer reported Saturday night that ministers have drawn up contingency plans to send millions of doses to Britain on military aircraft in the event of a Brexit-related disruption at UK ports.
“We will do this if necessary,” a spokesman for the health department told the newspaper.
Talks to finalize a free trade agreement between the UK and the EU and avoid potential chaos in January are currently stalled, with only days to seal a deal.
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