Kate Middleton receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine: 'I’m hugely grateful'
Kate Middleton received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, an opportunity for which she was "hugely grateful."
"Yesterday I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at London’s Science Museum," wrote the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, in a Saturday Instagram post. "I’m hugely grateful to everyone who is playing a part in the rollout — thank you for everything you are doing." Middleton dressed for the shot in a cream-colored short-sleeve sweater and a pair of jeans.
Her husband Prince William, 38, who battled COVID-19 in April 2020, also received his vaccine earlier this month at the Science Museum. "To all those working on the vaccine rollout — thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do," he captioned his Instagram post, which sparked social media jokes about his muscular "guns."
The young royals are one of the last few in their family to get vaccinated. In February, Prince Charles, 72, (who battled COVID-19 last year) and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, 73, were vaccinated while Queen Elizabeth and husband Prince Philip (who died in April at age 99) received their shots in January.
“Once you’ve had a vaccine you have a feeling of you know, you’re protected which I think is very important and as far as I could make out it was quite harmless,” said the queen, 95, while speaking to health officials in February. “It was very quick, and I’ve had lots of letters from people who have been very surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine. And the jab – it didn’t hurt at all."
Meanwhile, Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, are supporting efforts to encourage vaccination in the U.S., where 40 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. "Over the last year, everyone has experienced so much loss and so much struggle and I think the only way that we are really going to heal and recover is to do that together," said Harry at the "Vax Live" concert in Los Angeles, which aired in May. He also warned against a movement to make science "politicized" adding, "Being able to come together as humans, as people, is how we're going to get ourselves out of this and we must ensure that everyone around the world has equal access to the vaccine, otherwise none of this works."
And Markle, who is pregnant with the couple's second child, a baby girl, gave a virtual speech on the economic impact of COVID-19. "Women, and especially women of color, have seen a generation of economic gain wiped out," she said. "Since the pandemic began, nearly five-and-a-half million women have lost work in the U.S. And 47 million more women around the world are expected to slip into extreme poverty." Markle also encouraged countries to donate vaccines to other nations in need.
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