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Both the 94-year-old Monarch and Philip, 99, will not get preferential treatment, but will instead ‘wait in line’ during the first wave of injections reserved for the over-80s and care home residents according to senior sources speaking to the Daily Mail. After the UK’s drug regulation body approved the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine last week, the NHS has prepared to administer the first jabs to the care home population and carers first.
Sources close to the monarch and Philip said the couple will wait for their coronavirus vaccines, which is expected to start being administered from next week.
Both of the royals are likely to accept the inoculation on the advice of Palace doctors.
But the Queen and Philip are also tipped to lead the way for the UK’s vaccination drive, which public health experts believe would combat disinformation around the medicine.
Sources also told the Mail that senior members of the Royal Family will also be offered coronavirus vaccines at the same time as the rest of the country to avoid favouritism.
READ MORE: Queen’s brilliant plan ‘to get around Covid rules’ to see William and Kate over Christmas
Courtiers of the monarch are wary however that using the Royal Family in any vaccine campaign would be seen as “politicising” them.
But the Queen famously threw her support behind the 1957 Polio vaccine, revealing she, Prince Charles and Princess Anne had taken the jabs.
Buckingham Palace and Whitehall are said to be discussion whether the royals would take part in national vaccination drive.
It follows reports the NHS wants “sensible” celebrities and the Royal Family to promote the jab to combat scepticism over vaccination.
Because the royals will abide by the Government’s priority list for vaccine administration, Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge are unlikely to take the jab until next year.
Royal sources told the Mail the Cambridge royals “are keen to support everyone who has been involved”.
William has kept a close eye on Oxford University and Astrazeneca’s vaccine development, visiting their laboratory in June.
The Duke also lavished praise onto the research team after last month revealed the Oxford vaccine was 90 percent effective in developing immunity in trials.
Yesterday saw the UK record a further 15,539 cases of the virus, along with another 397 deaths.
In total the UK has seen 1,710,378 cases and 61,111 deaths from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed last week’s news of the Pfizer vaccine being approved for use in the UK, and Allegra Stratton, his press secretary, has suggested he could take it live on TV.
The NHS has also been told to get ready to administer the Pfizer jab as early as Monday, with NHS staffers among the first in the country to receive it.
