Coronavirus

England Invites Residents Over 80 To Get Vaccine

Officials are hoping a speedy mass vaccination rollout will help get Britain out of its third national lockdown.

England Invites Residents Over 80 To Get Vaccine
Frank Augstein / AP

England is encouraging people 80 years old and older to get the coronavirus vaccine. 

Ninety-four-year-old Queen Elizabeth II and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, received theirs on Saturday according to Buckingham Palace officials.

Britain has a target to vaccinate about 15 million people by the middle of February. More than 600,000 invitations are going out across England this week, asking the elderly to sign up for the vaccine. 

More than 1.2 million people in the country have received a first dose so far. 

Officials are hoping a speedy mass vaccination rollout will help get Britain out of its third national lockdown, which was ordered this month.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.