‘It was very emotional’: Lorraine Kelly, 61, receives Covid-19 vaccine

Lorraine Kelly shared footage receiving the Covid-19 Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday as she admitted the experience was ‘very emotional’. 

The veteran TV presenter, 61, expressed gratitude on Monday after receiving the dose alongside her partner, Steve Smith, as she stated the jab ‘was a breeze’. 

She said on her daytime ITV show: ‘That was so good, that was me on Friday getting my vaccine. 

‘Steve was filming me and getting it done as well. It was great, it was actually very emotional and I really feel as if I’ve achieved something. 

‘It was a breeze and how lucky are we to have the vaccine?’

Lorraine also captured her vaccination card to social media as she proudly wrote: ‘Vaccinated! So relieved! Easy peasy – didn’t feel a thing – thanks so much to all the cheery volunteers and NHS staff who made it SO simple!!

‘Please please get vaccinated!! We are so lucky to have the opportunity Xxx’. (sic)  

The makers of the three vaccines, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, that the MHRA has approved for use so far, have all said they are aiming to modify their jabs to cope with variants of coronavirus this year. 

AstraZeneca, the maker of the Oxford vaccine, said it hopes its new vaccine will be ready by autumn.

MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine said there is no evidence that current vaccines are lacking effectiveness against known coronavirus variants.

She said: ‘Since December last year we have all been concerned about the appearance of variants – Kent, South Africa, more recently Brazil – and therefore we’re well-prepared to look at, when it’s needed, updates to ensure the vaccines being used in citizens are fully effective.

‘Our goal is to ensure the vaccine modifications in future that respond to the new variants can be available in the shortest possible time but without compromising in any way on safety, on quality and on effectiveness.

‘What I would emphasise at the outset is that we don’t have evidence at the moment that the vaccines in use in the UK are significantly lacking in effectiveness but we are now well-prepared.’

Britain’s vaccine drive is gathering pace, with Matt Hancock revealing on Friday that two in five adults have now been vaccinated as deaths fall ‘faster and faster’.

Some 21.3million people have received their first dose, and the historic rollout means deaths have plummeted by 41 per cent in a week.

The Health Secretary said: ‘You can really see the effects of the vaccine in the number of deaths.

‘That link from cases to hospitalisations and then deaths that had been unbreakable before the vaccine is now breaking.

‘The vaccine is protecting the NHS and saving lives, right across the country.’

The positive figures on Friday led to fresh speculation about the lifting of the lockdown, and whether the roadmap could be accelerated.

Ministers have repeatedly insisted the timetable will not be sped up, but with each week of positive data the pressure is increasing for a swifter end to the restrictions.

More than one million people have now received both doses of Covid-19 vaccine, meaning 2 per cent of UK adults are fully vaccinated.