William spoke about his grandparents after being told medics have witnessed “vaccine hesitancy” among some communities during the jab rollout. And the future king stressed the importance of all members of society taking up the vaccine when offered it, during a video chat with NHS staff and volunteers. The duke also hailed the “monumental” success of the major jab programme and praised the efforts of staff working around the clock including GPs, pharmacists, vaccine teams and crowd control volunteers.
Daily Express royal correspondent Richard Palmer praised the Duke for being so open about the vaccine, despite other royals “resisting” sharing their opinion on it.
He tweeted: “We have previously reported, after Buckingham Palace’s initial resistance, that William appeared more disposed to promoting the vaccine than others in the Royal Family.
“Now he has gone public too.”
Buckingham Palace issued a rare medical announcement about the vaccine as the royals’ private health matters are usually kept quiet.
But it is reported the Queen decided the information should be made public to prevent inaccuracies and further speculation.
Mr Palmer previously questioned whether it was necessary for the palace to hesitate over the announcement.
He wrote on Twitter: “It seems only Buckingham Palace made a fuss about private medical information unless I missed the debate elsewhere?
“At least the Queen here ultimately made a decision to go public in support of her ministers.”
Five NHS staff and volunteers from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland involved in delivering the Covid-19 vaccine were chosen for a morale-boosting video chat with the future king on Thursday.
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Dr Nikki Kanani, a GP in south-east London and medical director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement, described how important it was for patients to take up their jab appointments.
She told the duke: “We do have vaccine hesitancy in some groups. It is really important to get into communities, ethnically diverse communities, and more deprived communities to say ‘this is your vaccine as well, it’s for everyone not just for some communities’. Getting that uptake is really important.”
Dr Kanani stressed that while the vulnerable and others were being vaccinated the rest of the country should continue to following coronavirus guidelines as we were not in the position where “we can hug all the people we want to”.
William said: “My grandparents have had the vaccine and I am very proud of them for doing that. It is really important that everyone gets the vaccine when they are told to.”
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The duke then praised the group, saying: “Huge congratulations to all of you for playing your part in such a monumental moment frankly, to roll out this vaccine.
“I think it’s a hugely proud moment for the NHS and for the UK being able to achieve such a massive task.”
The rollout, which is the largest vaccination programme in British history, has so far administered more than three million vaccine doses across the UK to the most vulnerable and those who care for them.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said at the weekend: “The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have today received Covid-19 vaccinations.”
It is not known which vaccine the Queen and Duke were given but it is likely they will receive their second dose up to 12 weeks later.
A royal source said the injections were administered by a household doctor at Windsor Castle.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is hoping to vaccinate 15 million people in the UK by mid-February.
