Stephen Fry, 63, joyously receives his first coronavirus vaccine
‘Fancy being jabbed at Westminster Abbey!’ Stephen Fry, 63, receives his first coronavirus vaccine ‘under the eyes of dozens of sleeping kings and queens’ at historic venue
- The national treasure fittingly had the jab at the ‘spectacular’ historic venue and shared snaps from the moment he was injected and said he ‘never felt a thing’
- After sharing a series of images on Twitter, he penned: ‘Never felt a thing! Fancy the call to be jabbed sending me to Westminster Abbey of all spectacular places’
- Some of his 12.6million Twitter followers were quick to note the ‘appropriate’ nature of the much-loved star receiving the vaccine at a UK landmark
- Britain’s vaccine drive is gathering pace, with Matt Hancock revealing on Friday that two in five adults have now been vaccinated as deaths fall ‘faster and faster’
Stephen Fry has received his first coronavirus jab at Westminster Abbey on the first day Poets’ Corner opened up as a vaccination centre.
The national treasure, 63, fittingly had the dose at the ‘spectacular’ historic venue and shared snaps from the moment he was injected and said he ‘never felt a thing’.
Poet’s Corner — the resting place of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Lord Tennyson — opened up as a new vaccination centre this morning.
There are now more than 1,600 vaccination sites across the country and almost 23million people have had at least one dose of a coronavirus jab.
After sharing a series of images on Twitter, Mr Fry wote: ‘Never felt a thing! Fancy the call to be jabbed sending me to Westminster Abbey of all spectacular places…
‘Under the eye of the poets of Poets Corner and a dozen sleeping kings and queens Thank you NHS staff and volunteers. Grateful to be armed against the enemy!’
It comes after Phillip Schofield, Lorraine Kelly and James Norton became the latest celebrities getting their Covid vaccinations.
Ready! Stephen Fry has received his first coronavirus vaccination at Westminster Abbey
Stephen wore a black T-shirt in the images as he sat with a volunteer administering his jab, before sharing the images and the gleeful caption.
Some of his 12.6million Twitter followers were quick to note the ‘appropriate’ nature of the much-loved star receiving the vaccine at a UK landmark.
Twitter users penned: ‘Now I’m wondering whether total legends get a special call to be vaccinated in a really cool venue?… A National Treasure within a National Treasure. Like a very expensive Russian Doll. Stay well…
‘Of course you got vaccinated in Westminster Abbey. Totally deserve it… I can’t imagine a more appropriate place for you to be shielded. Well done… Sir Isaac Newton would be looking at you proudly.’
Poets’ Corner has been the tomb of some of the UK’s most famous authors and poets for hundreds of years, starting with Geoffrey Chaucer in 1400.
Happy days: After sharing a series of images on Twitter, he penned: ‘Never felt a thing! Fancy the call to be jabbed sending me to Westminster Abbey of all spectacular places’
Happy days: Stephen wore a black T-shirt in the images as he sat with a volunteer administering his jab, before sharing the images and the gleeful caption
Classic writers including Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Rudyard Kipling, Lord Tennyson and Robert Burns are all either buried or commemorated there.
And more recently, the poets Ted Hughes and Philip Larkin, and C.S. Lewis, author of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, have been buried there.
It will now be used as a vaccination clinic for people to get immunised against Covid-19.
There are 1,655 vaccination centres across England, the majority of them in GP practices.
Poets’ Corner, in Westminster Abbey, will be used as a Covid vaccination clinic from tomorrow, NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens said
But the NHS is also using hospitals and large venues as ‘hubs’ where they can ferry huge numbers of people in and out in a day.
And medics have also taken over smaller community facilities, including churches and village halls, to help them make jabs accessible to everyone.
Other stars to receive the vaccine this week include Phillip Schofield, 58, Lorraine Kelly, 61, and James Norton, 35.
The makers of the three vaccines, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, that the MHRA has approved for use so far, have all said they are aiming to modify their jabs to cope with variants of coronavirus this year.
AstraZeneca said the body hopes its new vaccine will be ready by autumn.
MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine said there is no evidence that current vaccines are lacking effectiveness against known coronavirus variants.
Jabbed up: He stated he was happy to have received the jab
She said: ‘Since December last year we have all been concerned about the appearance of variants – Kent, South Africa, more recently Brazil – and therefore we’re well-prepared to look at, when it’s needed, updates to ensure the vaccines being used in citizens are fully effective.
‘Our goal is to ensure the vaccine modifications in future that respond to the new variants can be available in the shortest possible time but without compromising in any way on safety, on quality and on effectiveness.
‘What I would emphasise at the outset is that we don’t have evidence at the moment that the vaccines in use in the UK are significantly lacking in effectiveness but we are now well-prepared.’
Apt: Some of his 12.6million Twitter followers were quick to note the ‘appropriate’ nature of the much-loved star receiving the vaccine at a UK landmark
Britain’s vaccine drive is gathering pace, with Matt Hancock revealing on Friday that two in five adults have now been vaccinated as deaths fall ‘faster and faster’.
Some 21.3million people have received their first dose, and the historic rollout means deaths have plummeted by 41 per cent in a week.
The Health Secretary said: ‘You can really see the effects of the vaccine in the number of deaths. That link from cases to hospitalisations and then deaths that had been unbreakable before the vaccine is now breaking.
‘The vaccine is protecting the NHS and saving lives, right across the country.’
Progress: Britain’s vaccine drive is gathering pace, with Matt Hancock revealing on Friday that two in five adults have now been vaccinated as deaths fall ‘faster and faster’
The positive figures on Friday led to fresh speculation about the lifting of the lockdown, and whether the roadmap could be accelerated.
Ministers have repeatedly insisted the timetable will not be sped up, but with each week of positive data the pressure is increasing for a swifter end to the restrictions.
More than one million people have now received both doses of Covid-19 vaccine, meaning 2 per cent of UK adults are fully vaccinated.
