The Countess of Wessex has begun volunteering with St John Ambulance and the NHS at a vaccination centre in Greater London as part of the Royal Family’s wider support for the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
Sophie’s first shift was Thursday, where she helped record medical details and provide information about the vaccine to those who had come to receive their shot.
Sophie, who is Grand President of St John Ambulance, was said to have been eager to support the NHS’s vaccine rollout and the over 10,000 volunteers who are taking part from the organisation.
A spokesperson for St John Ambulance said: “Like many of our existing and long-standing volunteers, the Countess of Wessex has completed the required training to become a care volunteer in support of the NHS vaccination programme.
“We’re delighted to welcome the Countess, as the Grand President of St John Ambulance, to a growing team of over 10,000 volunteers who are now trained and being deployed to NHS vaccination centres all over England, in an extraordinary collective effort to beat the pandemic.”
Sophie, who has volunteered packing food baskets and personal protective equipment throughout the pandemic, will be a regular volunteer over the coming months as more of the population is vaccinated.
This news comes as The Queen participated in a video call with four senior responsible officers who’ve been overseeing vaccine administration in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Queen, who received her vaccination in early January alongside The Duke of Edinburgh, said “We hope everyone who is offered the vaccine will take it up because it is all of our best chances to protect both the people who take up the vaccine, their families, and their communities.”
The Queen also commented on how “it is remarkable how quickly the whole thing has been done and so many people have had the vaccine already.”
