Oscar and BAFTA-nominated British actor Ian McKellen (“Gods and Monsters,” “The Lord of the Rings” franchise) is the latest British star to receive a jab of the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine.
“It’s a very special day, I feel euphoric. I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. I feel very lucky to have had the vaccine,” said the 81-year-old actor.
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“I really hope that, as more people get vaccinated, we will move further along the path back to a more normal way of life,” McKellen added.
The actor was all praise for the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS). “That’s the real bonus of all this, to watch and see what works in this country and what doesn’t work — and it seems to me the NHS is right at the top of the list for institutions that do work,” he told ITV news.
People over the age of 80, care home workers and NHS workers who are at higher risk, are on on top of the priority list for vaccine recipients in the U.K. The first vaccine was administered to 90-year-old Margaret Keenan on Dec. 8.
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Other celebrities who have received the vaccine include TV stars Prue Leith and Michael Whitehall, who both received the jab on Tuesday.
Leith is a judge on hit show “The Great British Bake Off” and Whitehall features in Netflix’s “Travels With My Father” with son, the comedian Jack Whitehall. Both stars are 80.
“Who wouldn’t want immunity from #Covid19 with a painless jab?? #vaccine,” Leith tweeted.
Who wouldn't want immunity from #Covid19 with a painless jab?? #vaccine pic.twitter.com/BP8VTvAF9u
— Prue Leith (@PrueLeith) December 15, 2020
“Here was I worrying about a little prick, no, not @jackwhitehall, which was brilliantly organised by @GSTTnhs,” Whitehall tweeted. “Thank you to all the kind and wonderful NHS staff who administered my COVID-19 vaccine last night. See you for little prick No 2 in January. #nhs #GSTTnhs”
Here was I worrying about a little prick, no, not @jackwhitehall, which was brilliantly organised by @GSTTnhs. Thank you to all the kind and wonderful NHS staff who administered my COVID-19 vaccine last night. See you for little prick No 2 in January. #nhs #GSTTnhs pic.twitter.com/QlCPJ5W3vp
— Michael Whitehall (@fatherwhitehall) December 14, 2020
The vaccine is administered in two doses, and the next round for the stars will be in three weeks time.