Stars and royals who have been vaccinated against COVID-19

January 20, 2021

<p>As <strong><a href=/tags/0/coronavirus>coronavirus</a></strong> vaccines have been approved and are starting to be distributed to people around the world, celebrities and royals are starting to get inoculated themselves.
<p>Every country has a different vaccination rollout plan. Canada has approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and the first rollout here has started among front-line health care workers.
<p>While it may be months before some of us reading this receive the vaccine, it can be helpful to see prominent people doing so, since they have effective influence on people getting jabs when they're eligible. It also helps us be hopeful about a <strong><a href=/tags/0/covid-19>COVID-19</a></strong>-free future, something we could all look forward to as cases continue to spike.
<p><strong>Scroll through the gallery – or click through, if you're on desktop – to see the royals and celebrities who have said they've gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 so far!</strong>
<p>Photos: © Getty Images

As coronavirus vaccines have been approved and are starting to be distributed to people around the world, celebrities and royals are starting to get inoculated themselves.

Every country has a different vaccination rollout plan. Canada has approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and the first rollout here has started among front-line health care workers.

While it may be months before some of us reading this receive the vaccine, it can be helpful to see prominent people doing so, since they have effective influence on people getting jabs when they're eligible. It also helps us be hopeful about a COVID-19-free future, something we could all look forward to as cases continue to spike.

Scroll through the gallery – or click through, if you're on desktop – to see the royals and celebrities who have said they've gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 so far!

Photos: © Getty Images

Joel Grey

The screen and stage legend was vaccinated against COVID-19 in early January.

The 88-year-old Oscar, Tony, GRAMMY and Golden Globe Award winner told People the pandemic has reminded him of the advent of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, when "so many people were getting sick and dying quickly." He said he opted to get vaccinated "to be safe." As of this writing, he still needs his second dose.

"We've lost so many people to COVID," he said. "I've lost a few friends. It's heartbreaking. Frightening. Like boxing with the enemy. What's been helping me is a solid belief that there is an end. I want to live. I love life."

The Cabaret star added he's spent most of his time in Manhattan since the pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization last March.

"I'm hopeful that somewhere in the darkness there's still a light shining, and I int to be a part of it," he said.

Photo: © John Lamparski/WireImage

<h2>Al Roker</h2>
<p>The <I>Today</I> weatherman received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine live on air, during which he asked several important questions, including whether he will still need to wear a mask after being vaccinated.
<p>The short answer: Yes.
<p>Dr. <strong>Daniel Baker</strong> told him until we reach herd immunity via vaccination, masks will be with us for some time.
<p>"We're not going to know who has had the vaccine," Daniel said. "We're also going to take some time in terms of getting up to enough people to where we can really take these masks off."
<p>After that, Al rolled up his sleeve and nurse <Strong>Jessica Callard</strong> gave him the first dose!
<p>Photo: © Getty Images

<h2>Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</h2>
<p>The former NBA superstar revealed Jan. 18 that he had gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.
<p>In a taped message that was played during NBA games that were broadcast that evening, the 73-year-old was seen in a video in which he received the shot and then encouraged others to get it, too.
<p>"We have to find new ways to keep each other safe," he said.
<p>The six-time NBA MVP and 19-time NBA All-Star's video was aired on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. He's also been very outspoken about how COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting Black Americans, so his endorsement of the vaccine will be important for many to see.
<p>Photo: © Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

<h2>Dame Judi Dench</h2>
<p>The seven-time <Strong><a href=/tags/0/oscars>Oscar</a></strong> nominee told BBC News she had received her first dose of the shot in early January. It's not known whether she received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, but she said she was due to go back for a booster in a few months.
<p>"I had it one week ago, so I think my next is something like in 11 weeks' time. That's a great start."
<p>The 86-year-old said she was relieved to have gotten the vaccine, since something she was filming had to be postponed due to COVID-19. Instead of doing that production, she said she worked on something with <strong>Kenneth Branagh</strong>.
<p>"It's very difficult if you don't have a work discipline to get yourself started in the morning, really," she said of lockdowns. "It's terribly easy just to sit and do nothing."
<p>Photo: © Vincent Sandoval/Getty Images

<h2>Steve Martin</h2>
<p>On Jan. 17, the comedic legend took to Twitter to share that he'd received the vaccine – with a typically hilarious message.
<p>"Good news: I just got vaccinated! Bad news: I got it because I'm 75. Ha!" he wrote.
<p>"The operation in NYC was smooth as silk (sorry about the cliché @BCDreyer!) and hosted to perfection by the US Army and National Guard. Thank you all, and thank you science."
<p>If you're not familiar with <strong>Benjamin Dreyer</strong>, the person he tagged, Ben is the copy chief at Random House. He often tweets his disdain for clichés.
<p>Ben responded to Steve, saying, "But if you're 75, that means I'm... Oh dear."
<p>Ben is 62 years old, if you're wondering.
<p>Congrats on being vaccinated, Steve!
<p>Photo: © James Devaney/GC Images

<h2>Willie Nelson</h2>
<p>The 87-year-old country superstar and legend got his shot in Texas – and he didn't even have to get out of the car!
<p>The Country Music Hall of Fame inductee shared a post from Family Hospital Systems, which operates in Texas, over the weekend. It showed him receiving the vaccination through a drive-in appointment.
"Get your shot! Take care of yourself and others," he wrote.
<p>"Getting your COVID vaccine is Willie cool!" the original post read. "Thank you Willie Nelson for helping Family Hospital Systems slow the spread of COVID-19!"
<p>The post also featured Willie giving the camera a thumbs up after getting vaccinated.
<p>Photo: © Rick Kern/WireImage

<H2>Loretta Lynn</h2>
<p>The 88-year-old country legend took to Instagram to share she'd received the vaccine on Jan. 17. Her daughter, <strong>Peggy Jean</strong>, went with her.
<p>"Well, I bundled up and Peggy Jeana and I rolled out of Hurricane Mills so I could get this vaccine," the 18-time GRAMMY nominee wrote. The post was accompanied by a shot of her grinning at the camera while in the car, along with a close-up on a sticker that read, "I got my COVID-19 vaccine!"
<p>"I'm sure glad to get it and am sure ready to put COVID in the rear view mirror! And I enjoyed the mom daughter time, too! #winning #sickofcovid #stayhealthy #besafe #getyours"
<p>Photo: © Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden

On Jan. 15, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, 77, received their premiere COVID-19 vaccinations.

The news was shared on the Kungahuset Instagram, along with a photo of the King, 74, getting his jab. This marked the first time that a picture of a royal receiving their shot has been publicly released.

The royal couple were vaccinated at Stenhammar Palace in Flen, where they are currently residing.

"The great vaccination against COVID-19 is now underway around our country," wrote Carl Gustaf, originally in Swedish, in the statement.

He continued, "It is my hope that everyone who has the opportunity to be vaccinated in these coming months chooses to do so, so that together and as soon as possible we can get through this difficult time."

Photo: © Michael Campanella/Getty Images

<h2>King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway</h2>
<p><strong><a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/king-harald">King Harald</a></strong> and <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/queen-sonja"><strong>Queen Sonja</strong></a> received <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/royalty/02021011458645/king-harald-queen-sonja-of-norway-receive-covid-19-vaccine"><strong>the COVID-19 jab</strong></a> on Jan. 13, according to announcement form the royal palace.
<p>The <a href="https://ca.hellomagazine.com/tags/0/norwegian-royals/"><strong>Norwegian royals</strong></a>, both 83, had their first dosage of COVID-19 vaccination, along with Harald's elder sister, <strong>Princess Astrid</strong>, 88.
</p>"The royal couple will receive the next vaccine in three weeks," a brief statement from the palace said.
<p>Photo: © Rune Hellestad – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

<h2>Martha Stewart</h2>
<p>The 79-year-old received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Jan. 11. She shared a video of herself getting the shot at the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai in New York City.
<P>"I am so proud of and grateful to the doctors, nurses and medical staff who are wading through the red tape and confusion of the distribution of these very important vaccines," she wrote on Instagram.
<p>"I am excited to have received my dosage and look forward to the booster.... We are all hoping for an end to this pandemic. To allay your concerns that I jumped the line, know that I am in the approved age group for this batch of vaccine and I waited in line with others."
<p>Photo: © Arnold Turner/Getty Images for Netflix

The Queen and Prince Philip

Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh received COVID-19 vaccinations on Jan. 9 at Windsor Castle, the Palace says.

The doses were administered by a Household Doctor, and the Queen went public about the royal couple receiving the inoculations to avoid speculation and rumour, reports say.

The monarch and duke have spent most of the last year at Windsor Castle, having been moved there for their safety at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March. They also spent Christmas there for the first time since 1987, choosing to celebrate the holiday together privately. The U.K. government's restrictions around COVID-19 meant the Royal Family's traditional celebrations at Sandringham were impossible in 2020, since only three households could see each other from Dec. 23 to 27.

Since three members of the Royal Family – Prince Charles, Prince William and Princess Michael of Kent – have contracted COVID-19 in the last year, the news is welcome to many royals fans who are no doubt looking forward to receiving the vaccine themselves and seeing other members of the family get it.

<h2>Dame Joan Collins</h2>
<p>The former <I>Dynasty</I> star got her shot on the same day as the Queen and Prince Philip, saying she was thrilled to have gotten it.
<p>"I really wanted to get it," she told <I>Good Morning Britain</I>. "I just wanted to tell anybody who is worried about it, there is nothing to worry about. It was the easiest thing.
<p>"It was just like a little scratch; there was no pain at all. I had no after effects. I went home and had a drink, even.
<p>"If you are advised by your GP to go, please go."
<p>Photo: © David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Hank Aaron

The 86-year-old Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, who still holds several MLB records, got vaccinated publicly because he wanted to urge other Black Americans to do so.

Hank, who is one of only two major league baseball players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least 15 times, was inoculated at the health clinic of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta on Jan. 6.

"I don't have any qualms about it at all, you know," he told the Associated Press. "I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this... It's just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country."

Hank was joined by Andrew Young, who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Ala. and was the executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It was one of the most prominent Black Civil Rights organizations in the 1960s. He is also the former mayor of Atlanta. The two got their shot at the same time.

<h2>Joe and Jill Biden</h2>
<p>The U.S. president-elect and his wife, who is an education expert and former community college professor, received their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine in December 2020, with <strong><a href=/tags/0/joe-biden>Joe</strong></a> doing so on live television. Joe got his booster shot on Jan. 11 at the ChristianaCare Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del.
<p>Joe has promised to have 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots delivered to Americans within his first 100 days in office. That amount would ensure 50 million Americans would be vaccinated against COVID-19 by April 30.
<p>Photo: © Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

<h2>Kamala Harris</h2>
<p>The U.S. vice president-elect also received the Pfizer vaccine, and got it on camera a week after Joe Biden had his first dose. Kamala and Joe have decided to stagger the vaccine, according to CNN, which is what their medical experts have recommended. Kamala had the Moderna vaccine, while Joe received the Pfizer one.
<p>"Today I got the COVID-19 vaccine," the 56-year-old tweeted after receiving the shot. "I am incredibly grateful to our frontline health care workers, scientists and researchers who made this moment possible.
<p>"When you're able to take the vaccine, get it. This is about saving lives."
<p>Photo: © Samuel Corum/Getty Images

<h2>Queen Margrethe of Denmark</h2>
<p>Denmark's Queen became the first European royal to announce she had received the vaccine, and got it on New Year's Day, according to a statement. She was reported to have received the Pfizer vaccine, and was said to be awaiting a booster shot in another few weeks.
<p>The 80-year-old has made COVID-19 a central theme in her speeches over the last year. In her annual New Year's address, she paid tribute to front-line health care workers and called the vaccine's rollout "a source of joy and encouragement."
<p>Last March, Margrethe also gave a historic speech in which she discussed the pandemic and urged Danes to stay safe, describing the illness as "a dangerous guest." Besides her New Year's speech, Margrethe rarely addresses the nation.
<p>Photo: © Ole Jansen/Getty Images