In Photos: Actor Ian McKellen Receives First Dose of Covid-19 Vaccine, Says He Feels 'Euphoric'

British actor Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies, said he was euphoric after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and urged everyone who was offered the jab to accept it. Photo: Reuters

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

“I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. I feel very lucky to have had the vaccination.” He was the latest British celebrity to go public about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, part of a collective effort to reassure members of the public who may be harbouring doubts about the jab’s safety. Photo: Reuters

Margaret Keenan, 90, became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine outside of a trial in Britain. She has a message for others: “go for it” to beat the devastating disease. Photo: Reuters

In the US too, vaccination has begun. The US vice president, Mike Pence, received a Covid-19 vaccine shot live on television Friday in a public display designed to boost national confidence in the drug even as President Donald Trump sparked confusion over approval for a second anti-Covid drug. "Building confidence in the vaccine is what brings us here this morning," VP Mike Pence said after being injected at the White House, quipping: "I didn't feel a thing." Photo: Reuters

Many healthworkers too received vaccines. Physician Alister Martin receives one of the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine from RN Jennifer Lisciotti at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., December 16, 2020. Craig F. Walker/Pool via REUTERS

Physician Luisa Vera reacts after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Indiana University Health, Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., December 16, 2020. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston