Actor Ian McKellen has become the poster boy for the United Kingdom’s sprawling COVID-19 vaccine campaign, preserving the national treasure from the pandemic that has claimed the lives of 1.65 million people globally. The 81-year-old “Lord of the Rings” and “X-Men” star received his first dose of the vaccine Wednesday at the Art Pavilion in London. He praised the publicly funded National Health Service on its administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech drug during the pandemic. McKellen said that he felt “very lucky to have had the vaccine” and would recommend it to anyone without hesitation. The vaccine developed by American biotech company Moderna and the National Institutes of Health requires one dose.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 17, 2020 22:03 UTC