LONDON (CU)_ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured the public that the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe for use, adding that he will also be receiving the jab on Friday (19 March).
“The Oxford jab is safe and the Pfizer jab is safe. The thing that isn’t safe is catching COVID which is why it’s so important that we all get our jabs as soon as our turn comes,” he said during a Downing Street conference on Thursday (18 March).
“As it happens, I’m getting mine tomorrow, and the centre where I’m getting jabbed is currently using the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine … and that is the one I’ll be having.”
Meanwhile several European countries resumed using the jab after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed that it was “safe and effective”, following a review conducted owing fears over blood clots. The regulator said the vaccine was not associated with a higher risk and its benefits outweighed any risks.
According to the British Prime Minister, England’s roadmap out of lockdown is on track, and the way to ensure this continues is by getting the vaccine when your turn comes.
There have been reports of small numbers of people not turning up for immunisation following the controversy over the AstraZeneca jab in Europe, but Prof Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, assured that many of them would eventually get the jab after “a pause for thought”.
“People dying, people getting significant blood clotting problems, that’s one of the risks of COVID, people having long-term physical and mental effects from COVID,” he said.
Last week, 13 countries in Europe suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over fears about blood clots reported in a very small number of patients. However, following the EMA’s review on the matter Germany, France Italy, Lithuania, Cyprus and Latvia resumed immunisation on Friday while Netherlands, Spain and Portugal will do so next week.
Meanwhile Sweden, Norway and Denmark have said that would resume administering the AstraZeneca jab after conducting their own independent review.
