London, December 6: The UK's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip will receive the vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19), developed by Pfizer in collaboration with BioNTech of Germany, within weeks, according to reports. Queen Elizabeth II  and Prince Philip will receive the coronavirus vaccine to boost public confidence in vaccination, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday. After UK Approves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Here Are Other Vaccine Candidates Awaiting Approval in These Countries.

Notably, in 1957, Prince Charles and Princess Anne had been given polio jabs to counter fears about the vaccine. To avoid any accusations of favouritism, the monarch, 94, and 99-year-old Prince will not get preferential treatment. They will instead "wait in line" and receive the injection when all those above 80 will be vaccinated. Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia of Sweden Contract Coronavirus, Swedish Royal Couple Go Into Isolation.

Elderly care home residents and their carers will be the very first to get vaccinated against coronavirus, followed by those aged 80 and over and frontline health and care staff. Other elderly people and the clinically extremely vulnerable will be inoculated next. The remaining population would be prioritised by age.

Britain on Wednesday approved the emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from next week in the country. The approval was given after a worldwide phase 3 trial which demonstrated the vaccine efficacy rate of 95 per cent. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, according to a report by BBC, said the first 800,000 doses will be available in the country from next week.

According to the Daily Mirror, several high-profile figures including Monty Python star Michael Palin and Bob Geldof in Britain have committed publicly to getting the COVID-19 vaccine in a bid to encourage people to get vaccinated.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 06, 2020 10:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).