The Prince of Wales has confirmed he will take a coronavirus vaccine, but said he is “way down” the priority list and already has antibodies.
Speaking to staff on a tour of a vaccination centre in Gloucester on Thursday, Prince Charles suggested he may not get one of the newly approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines – currently being rolled out – but instead would have to wait for the Oxford/Astrazeneca jab, which is still awaiting regulatory approval.
His words will come as a boost to the Government’s efforts to encourage broad uptake of the drug, in the face of “anti-vax” campaigners.
– Almost 70 specialist clinics set up to help people suffering from long Covid
Long Covid is the name applied so far by experts grappling with the issue of longer-term effects of the coronavirus.
The latest official guidelines in Britain use two definitions: people may have “ongoing symptomatic Covid-19” if symptoms persist from four to 12 weeks, and could have “post-Covid-19 syndrome” if they do not resolve after 12 weeks.
The NHS says one in five people who have contracted coronavirus have gone on to develop longer-term symptoms. It has data showing 186,000 have reported having problems for up to 12 weeks.
But there is also evidence so far, including cases documented in the US, where symptoms have continued for more than six months.
