London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Feb 21, 2026

Rich And Powerful Attempt To Jump Covid Vaccine Queues

Rich And Powerful Attempt To Jump Covid Vaccine Queues

A former prime minister of Poland has received a Covid-19 vaccination ahead of healthcare workers just as other rich and powerful individuals attempt to buy their way to the front of the vaccine queue.

Leszek Miller, who was prime minister of Poland between 2001 and 2004 and serves as a Member of European Parliament (MEP), tweeted a photo confirming he had received a vaccination against Covid-19.

Outrage followed: Why was Miller being vaccinated ahead of healthcare workers, people asked. Covid-19 vaccines in Poland are currently only available to frontline healthcare workers, their family and parents of new-borns. Miller is neither of these.

Yet Miller's certificate from Comirnaty, the European Medicines Agency, confirms his inoculation: "You just received a mRNA vaccine against Covid-19," the certificate reads in Polish.


Speaking to Polish media, Miller said he received the vaccine because he was a long-term patient of the Medical Center of the Medical University of Warsaw, which conducted "out-of-sequence" vaccinations.

Krystyna Janda, a Polish actress, also gloated on Facebook about her Covid-19 jab from the Medical Center of the Medical University of Warsaw, which confirmed in a statement that it had vaccinated several actors, composers and directors "who will promote the idea of ​​vaccination against Covid-19 in Poland."

Adam Niedzielski, Poland's health minister, has accused the Medical Center of "a deliberate breach of the rules."

But despite the outrage, Miller and Janda are now the envy of wealthy individuals around the world who will pay anything to jump the vaccine queue in their own countries.


Krystyna Janda, a Polish actress who received an early Covid-19 vaccination.


"'Money is not a problem,'" is what clients tell Sabine Donnai when they call asking for a Covid-19 vaccination. "The question comes every hour," she says.

Donnai founded Viavi, a private health clinic in London, which, like every other private healthcare service in the U.K., is unable to provide Covid-19 vaccinations since they are being administered only by the National Health Service (NHS). "Unless [a vaccine] becomes available privately it's going to become really really difficult for the wealthy to get hold of it despite them offering a hell of a lot of money for it," she says.

But this has not stopped them from trying. Klnik, a private health clinic in Northern England, has reportedly received offers of £2,000 ($2,690) for a single Covid-19 jab. Like Viavi, however, it is unable to comply no matter how big the offer.

Exclusive health concierge or membership firms have reported similar requests. Priyanka Chaturvedi, CEO of Health Clic in London's Mayfair, says "probably all" of her clients have asked about getting a Covid-19 jab.

Members of Lanserhof, a health clinic housed in London's private members Art's Club, have been asking the same question. But all such requests are met with the same answer: Covid-19 vaccines are only available through the U.K.'s NHS.


Tracy Anderson and Gwyneth Paltrow host a Goop event at the Lanserhof at The Arts Club in 2019.


It's no easier in Switzerland, which runs a thriving business providing private healthcare to the world's wealthy. Like in the U.K., vaccines in Switzerland are only available through the country's national healthcare service. And yet celebrities and millionaires from around the world are still ringing up and asking about getting a jab, says Marta Ra who runs Paracelsus Recovery.

But even Switzerland does not want a situation "where some rich people can get [a vaccine] just because they can pay ten times more than it actually costs," says Ra.

The Rich Miss Out On Covid Vaccinations


The problem with the global wealthy, or jet set, is they live such international lives, and are so used to private healthcare, that they are not registered with any national healthcare provider, be it in Switzerland or the U.K. or anywhere else.

"Most of them that are U.K. based are not registered with the NHS. So even if they were over 80 or vulnerable, because they've never registered with the NHS they would not be vaccinated," says Donnai.

This is why many wealthy individuals are bombarding private clinics with requests for a Covid-19 jab. That, and a lot of them are used to getting anything they want.

"We normally make anything happen that we can make happen. If they want to be seen by a consultant in Australia, we can fly the consultant over if that's what they want," says Donnai.

But what they don't want is to stand in a vaccine queue with others, says Ra. "They don't want to expose themselves to the other people standing in line or the person who is administering [the vaccine].

"It's about secrecy and discretion and also the feeling of exclusivity. They don't want to go where everyone else goes. They want to have special treatment because this is their normal standard."


A billionaire's worst nightmare: A vaccination queue in a supermarket car park.


Could There Be A Covid Vaccine Tourism?


When the U.K. became the first country to green-light a Covid-19 vaccine, Chaturvedi says she had "a few people contact us about that who were from abroad."

These people hoped they could come to the U.K., buy a vaccine, and then return home again. But they were immediately disappointed when Chaturvedi explained "that is not how the NHS works." The NHS does not sell Covid-19 vaccinations.

However, the idea of Covid-19 vaccine tourism is growing. Wherever a vaccination is first sold to the private healthcare sector, there will be a rush of enquiries from the world's wealthy.

Private healthcare centers are already trying to get hold of doses. Lanserhof says "it is definitely something we are looking to provide." Donnai expects the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to become available to the private sector in the U.K. by April.

In India, it might be March, according to the Serum Institute which is manufacturing the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Only then can the wealthy legitimately jump the Covid-19 vaccination queue. And they will likely pay any price.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Confirms Preferential U.S. Trading Terms Will Continue After Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
U.S. and U.K. to Hold Talks on Diego Garcia as Iran Objects to Potential Military Use
UK Officials Weigh Possible Changes to Prince Andrew’s Position in Line of Succession Amid Ongoing Scrutiny
British Police Probe Epstein’s UK Airport Links and Expand High-Profile Inquiries
The Impact of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba's Humanitarian Crisis: A Tightening Noose
Trump Directs Government to Release UFO and Alien Information
Trump Signs Global 10% Tariffs on Imports
United Kingdom Denies U.S. Access to Military Base for Potential Iran Strike
British Co-founder of ASOS falls to his death from Pattaya apartment
Early 2026 Data Suggests Tentative Recovery for UK Businesses and Households
UK Introduces Digital-First Passport Rules for Dual Citizens in Border Control Overhaul
Unable to Access Live Financial Data for January UK Surplus Report
UK Government Considers Law to Remove Prince Andrew from Royal Line of Succession
UK ‘Working Closely with US’ to Assess Impact of Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
Trump Criticises UK Decision to Restrict Use of Bases in Potential Iran Strike Scenario
UK Foreign Secretary and U.S. State Chief Hold Strategic Talks as Tensions Rise Over Joint Air Base
Two teens arrested in France for alleged terror plot.
Nordic Fracture: How Criminal Scandals and Toxic Ties are Dismantling the Norwegian Crown
US Supreme Court Voids Trump’s Emergency Tariff Plan, Reshaping Trade Power and Fiscal Risk
King Charles III Opens London Fashion Week as Royal Family Faces Fresh Scrutiny
Trump’s Evolving Stance on UK Chagos Islands Deal Draws Renewed Scrutiny
House Democrat Says Former UK Ambassador Unable to Testify in Congressional Epstein Inquiry
No Record of Prince Andrew Arrest in UK as Claims Circulate Online
UK Has Not Granted US Approval to Launch Iran Strikes from RAF Bases, Government Confirms
AI Pricing Pressure Mounts as Chinese Models Undercut US Rivals and Margin Risks Grow
Global Counsel, Advisory Firm Co-Founded by Lord Mandelson, Enters Administration After Client Exodus
London High Court dispute over Ricardo Salinas’s $400mn Elektra share-backed bitcoin loan
UK Intensifies Efforts to Secure Saudi Investment in Next-Generation Fighter Jet Programme
Former Student Files Civil Claim Against UK Authorities After Rape Charges Against Peers Are Dropped
Archer Aviation Chooses Bristol for New UK Engineering Hub to Drive Electric Air Taxi Expansion
UK Sees Surge in Medical Device Testing as Government Pushes Global Competitiveness
UK Competition Watchdog Flags Concerns Over Proposed Getty Images–Shutterstock Merger
Trump Reasserts Opposition to UK Chagos Islands Proposal, Urges Stronger Strategic Alignment
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis advocates for a ban on minors using social media.
Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash Accuses Prime Minister of Lying to Australians
Meanwhile in Time Square, NYC One of the most famous landmarks
Jensen Huang just told the story of how Elon Musk became NVIDIA’s very first customer for their powerful AI supercomputer
A Lunar New Year event in Taiwan briefly came to a halt after a temple official standing beside President Lai Ching‑te suddenly vomited, splashing Lai’s clothing
Jillian Michaels reveals Bill Gates’ $55 million investment in mRNA vaccines turned into over $1 billion.
Ex-Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrested
Former British Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office
Four Chagos Islanders Establish Permanent Settlement on Atoll
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
UK Inflation Slows Sharply in January, Strengthening Case for Bank of England Rate Cut
Hide the truth, fake the facts, pretend the opposite, Britain is as usual
France President Macron says Free Speech is Bull Sh!t
Viktor Orbán getting massive praise for keeping Hungary safe, rich and migrant-free!
UK Inflation Falls to Ten-Month Low, Markets Anticipate Interest Rate Cut
UK House Prices Climb 2.4% in December as Market Shows Signs of Stabilisation
BAE Systems Predicts Sustained Expansion as Defence Orders Reach Record High
×