Prince William urges people to get vaccinated, asks them to stay away from rumours

A day after Queen Elizabeth II urged people to get vaccinated against coronavirus by sharing her experience, Prince William has urged those eligible to get jabs and warned against anti-vaccination messages on social media, reports AFP. “Social media is awash sometimes with lots of rumours and misinformation,” the Duke of Cambridge said in video footage released by Kensington Palace on Saturday evening.

The Prince and his wife Catherine spoke to two women who are clinically vulnerable and eligible for first jabs soon.

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In one video call, a woman called Shivali, who has type 2 diabetes, said she had read a lot of social media posts that made her “a bit nervous” about getting vaccinated initially, while she was now confident about getting the jab.

The prince told her that people have to be a little bit careful who they believe and especially for those who are clinically vulnerable as well. He shared the importance of getting vaccinated with her.

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“Catherine and I are not medical experts by any means but if it’s any consolation we can wholeheartedly support having vaccinations, it’s really, really important.” 

The video came after the 94-year-old Queen on Thursday urged people to take up the vaccine, saying it “didn’t hurt at all,” when she received it in January, along with Prince Philip.

She said that those who feared getting the vaccine, “ought to think about other people rather than themselves.”

Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, 72, who contracted a mild dose of Covid-19 last year, has also received his jab, as has his second wife, Camilla, 73.

The UK so far has given more than 19 million people a first vaccine dose after launching its innoculation programme in December.