Out British actor Ian McKellen has
received a coronavirus vaccination, possibly making him the first
LGBT celebrity to be inoculated.
“I feel very lucky to have had the
vaccine,” McKellen, 81, said in a tweet. “I would have no
hesitation in recommending it to anyone.”
England's health system (NHS) also
tweeted the news, along with a photo of McKellen wearing a rainbow
scarf as he rolled up his sleeve to get vaccinated. In another photo,
McKellen gives a thumbs up.
“Sir @IanMcKellen joins the thousands
of people who have now safely received the first doses of the
#CovidVaccine,” the agency said.
NHS England also quoted McKellen as
saying: “I really hope that, as more people get vaccinated, we will
move further along the path back to a more normal way of life. We all
have a part to play in the fight against coronavirus and doing our
bit and getting vaccinated will save lives.”
McKellen, who is best known for playing
Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
trilogies and Magneto in the X-Men films, received his shot at
The Art Pavilion in London's Mile End.
England was the first nation to begin a
mass vaccination campaign using Pfizer's vaccine. The United States
has also started its roll-out of Pfizer's vaccine and is poised to
approve a second vaccine developed by Moderna.