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Tom Parker praises ‘incredible’ vaccine rollout after getting Covid-19 jab

The Wanted singer Tom Parker has praised the “incredible” work of the NHS vaccine rollout after receiving his first coronavirus vaccination.

The 32-year-old is undergoing treatment for a brain tumour and is therefore in a priority group for the clinically extremely vulnerable.

He said he felt reassured after a “tough” time having treatment, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, during the pandemic.

(@tomparkerofficial/Instagram)
(@tomparkerofficial/Instagram)

The father-of-two received the Pfizer/BioNTech jab at a vaccination centre run by Guy’s Hospital in London Bridge on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking afterwards, he told the PA news agency: “I hope that people go out of their way to do it. I understand people’s concerns about it but there is no real need to be concerned.

“Obviously everything has moved so quickly. They have had to really step up the game on the vaccination.

“And fair play to the teams behind the scenes. They have been working day and night to do it.

“Now obviously we have got a vaccination already rolled out, which I think it is incredible in such a short space of time.”

Watch: COVID-19 - Celebrities who have had the coronavirus vaccination

Parker added: “I think for me it is tough because I have got to go for treatment and stuff.”

He said having the jab was “reassuring” and that “the minute we can get as many people vaccinated as possible, hopefully we can return to some sort of normality”.

Parker described the centre as “really well organised”.

He added: “I was genuinely quite impressed because they have had to roll it out really quickly. Everyone was super helpful. I got a little pack with what to expect.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Parker, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, shared a series of photos on his Instagram Stories showing him arriving at the vaccination centre wearing a face mask.

“Just get it done so we can all move on,” he wrote to his 210,000 followers.

Another image displayed a card showing he had been given the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

2013 Fusion Festival – Birmingham
Tom Parker shared an image with the hashtag ‘Just get it done so we can all move on’ (Joe Giddens/PA)

In October, the singer revealed he had been diagnosed with “inoperable” stage-four glioblastoma and had begun treatment in the hope of prolonging his life.

But earlier this month he announced in an Instagram post that there had been a “significant reduction” in the size of the tumour and that he was “responding well to treatment”.

He has been married to Kelsey Hardwick since 2018 and they welcomed their son, Bodhi, in October last year, joining their one-year-old daughter, Aurelia Rose.

Actress Dame Judi Dench, broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, actor Sir Ian McKellen, Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith and entertainer Lionel Blair have all also received their first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Boy band The Wanted formed in 2009, with Parker, Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes and Jay McGuiness.

Watch: Tom Parker's stage four brain tumour has 'significantly reduced' following treatment