Royal pair meet vaccine heroes
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have visited the region to learn more about the coronavirus vaccination trials.
Charles and Camilla attended the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham yesterday, along with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, to meet volunteers who are taking part in clinical trials for Covid-19 jabs.
The royal couple also met healthcare staff receiving their innoculations – in their first joint official public event for two months.
The University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as well as Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Solihull Hospital and Good Hope Hospital, is believed to have treated the largest number of Covid-positive patients of any NHS trust in the UK – more than 12,500, with 10,000 of these discharged.
Dr David Rosser, chief executive officer at UHB, said: “The trust is working with our colleagues at Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group, GP partners, pharmacies, Millennium Point and Aston Villa Football Club on the continued successful rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine programme.
“To date, hundreds of thousands of people across Birmingham and Solihull have received their first dose. As supply increases and eligibility widens, we are looking forward to vaccinating more people and bringing us closer on the path back to normal life.”
Mr Hancock added: “I was delighted to visit the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham alongside their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and to thank the staff for their heroic efforts throughout the pandemic.”
It was announced last week that Charles, 72, and Camilla, 73, had received their Covid-19 vaccinations – a month after the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had received theirs.
Prince Charles himself tested positive for coronavirus in March last year.
