Ian McKellen gets Covid-19 vaccine

LONDON • English actor Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings movies (2001 to 2003), said he was euphoric after receiving his first dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine and urged everyone who was offered the jab to accept it.

The state-run National Health Service (NHS), which is running Britain's mass coronavirus vaccination programme, posted several pictures of McKellen, clad in a blue T-shirt and a rainbow-striped scarf, giving a thumbs-up as he received the shot.

"It's a very special day. I feel euphoric," McKellen, 81, was quoted as saying in one NHS post which he retweeted.

"I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. I feel very lucky to have had the vaccination."

Nearly 140,000 people have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Britain since roll-out began on Dec 8.

People over the age of 80 are in the highest-priority group.

A star of British stage and screen since the 1960s, McKellen attained a new level of global fame in the 2000s when he appeared as Gandalf in the movies, which were based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novels and directed by Peter Jackson.

He is the latest British celebrity to go public about receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, as part of a collective effort to reassure members of the public who may be harbouring doubts about the jab's safety.

Chef and cookery writer Prue Leith, 80, who presents popular television show The Great British Bake Off (2010 to present), also posted a picture of herself receiving a shot.

It is not known whether Queen Elizabeth, 94, and her husband Prince Philip, 99, have been vaccinated yet.

The Times reported the royals may "let it be known" once they have received the vaccine.

The Queen is highly respected in Britain and her backing would be a powerful message to counter anti-vaccination misinformation.

REUTERS