OXFORD-ASTRAZENECA VACCINE SAFE, WILL RECEIVE ON FRIDAY, SAYS UK PM

Fri 19 March 2021:

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, Boris Johnson has said, adding he will be receiving it himself on Friday.

The country is currently vaccinating those over 50, which includes 56-year-old Johnson, who has been waiting for his turn just like everyone else.

“As it happens, I’m getting mine tomorrow.

And the center where I’m getting jabbed is currently using the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for those receiving their first dose, and that is the one I’ll be having,” Johnson said at a press conference.

Johnson also said delays to vaccine supply next month would not affect England’s roadmap out of lockdown.

“The progress along the road to freedom remains unchecked,” he told a Downing Street briefing, after NHS England warned vaccine supplies would be reduced in April.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has lately been under intense scrutiny in light of reports about some recipients developing blood clots after vaccination. However, the European Medicines Agency has announced it failed to find a link between the vaccine and increased risks of thrombosis.

The UK has already inoculated over 25 million people with the first dose and more than 1.7 million with the second.