Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has said that receiving her vaccine to protect against Covid-19 “didn't hurt at all” and encouraged those hesitant about getting jabbed to think about how it would help others in preventing the spread of the deadly virus.

In a rare reference to private health matters, the 94-year-old monarch backed the National Health Service (NHS) led vaccination programme in the UK during a video call earlier this week with health officials coordinating the rollout across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

She and husband, 99-year-old Prince Philip, received their first of two doses last month.

“Once you've had the vaccine you have a feeling of, you know, you're protected, which is I think very important,” said the Queen, in reference to her jab.

“As far as I could make out it was quite harmless. It was very quick, and I've had lots of letters from people who have been very surprised by how easy it was to get the vaccine. And the jab – it didn't hurt at all,” she said. Addressing some concerns about the uptake of vaccines and reluctance among certain groups, the monarch added: “I think the other thing is, that it is obviously difficult for people if they've never had a vaccine... But they ought to think about other people rather than themselves.”

The video interaction, posted on the Royal Family's social media pages, came as UK Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said figures suggest 11-15 per cent of people were vaccine-hesitant, with some ethnic minority communities among that category.