Ian McKellen tweets photos of getting coronavirus vaccine

Actor Ian McKellen was vaccinated against COVID-this week in the U.K., saying that he felt “very lucky” and “euphoric” to have the inoculation amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s a very special day, I feel euphoric,” McKellen said after receiving the vaccine on Wednesday, according to a tweet from the National Health Service (NHS) in London. The 81-year-old actor retweeted the message, which included a photo of him giving a “thumbs up.” 

“I really hope that, as more people get vaccinated, we will move further along the path back to a more normal way of life,” McKellen also said. 

“It’s a very special day, I feel euphoric. I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. I feel very lucky to have had the vaccine.”

It’s a thumbs up from Sir @IanMckellen who received the first dose of his #CovidVaccine today https://t.co/W6JtOiwciR pic.twitter.com/otfqkj7I9J

— NHS London (@NHSEnglandLDN) December 16, 2020

‘I really hope that, as more people get vaccinated, we will move further along the path back to a more normal way of life.’
⁰Sir @IanMcKellen joins the thousands of people who have now safely received the first dose of the #CovidVaccine. https://t.co/1e3nCAUFcB pic.twitter.com/FFW6jrKqEg

— NHS England and NHS Improvement (@NHSEngland) December 16, 2020

ITV News shared a video of McKellen receiving the vaccine. He was seen giving the medical professional who administered the shot an elbow bump. 

‘It is invasive of course, it looks like a weapon – a needle – but it isn’t, it’s a friend!’

The Lord of Rings actor says he would encourage everybody to do the ‘sensible thing’ and get a jab if they can

More here: https://t.co/8hHDytATlZ pic.twitter.com/hSPZHWEeBv

— ITV News (@itvnews) December 16, 2020

McKellen in the video also lauded NHS workers for their handling of the pandemic.

“It seems to me the NHS is right at the top of the institutions that do work, and of course I know I wouldn’t be alive if it hadn’t been for the NHS. I’m a little bit older than the NHS, but when I was a kid, having good medical treatment available when it was needed, what a wonderful notion, and what a wonderful definition of what we are as a nation,” McKellen said.

He added that vaccines are “invasive, of course. And it looks like a weapon, the needle.” 

“But it isn’t,” McKellen added. “It’s a friend, and I would encourage everybody to do the sensible thing, not just for themselves, but for everybody else. Because if you are virus free, then that helps everybody else.” 

The United Kingdom because the first country to approve Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and begin vaccinating people earlier this month. Residents of assisted living facilities and those ages 80 and older are two of the first groups being prioritized to receive the vaccine. 

Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first woman in the U.K. to receive Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 8.