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A fifth of Britons are still unsure the Pfizer vaccine is safe, while two-thirds said Health Secretary Matt Hancock should receive the vaccine live, according to a new YouGov poll.
The researchers asked more than 5,000 adults in Britain how confident they were that the new Pfizer vaccine is safe.
In response, 20 percent of those surveyed said they weren’t sure at all or were unsure that the vaccine was safe.
A survey reveals that a fifth of British people are not convinced the vaccine is safe, as this morning Matt Hancock revealed that 50 hospitals were equipped and ready to begin distribution (file photo)
Just over a quarter (27 percent) of people said they are “very confident” that it will be safe, while 43 percent said they are “somewhat confident.”
When asked if the vaccine should be required by law, the majority of Britons said they would oppose it being made legally mandatory.
Almost half of the people (44 percent) said they did not think a law should be passed, while 37 percent said they would support the idea.
Support was highest among Liberal Democrats (45 percent), with Conservatives and Labor at 43 percent and 39 percent respectively.
Britain’s drug regulator the MHRA today became the first in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine and the jab will be available to some members of the public next week.
Initial batches of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine are already heading to Britain after a clinical trial suggested it was 95 percent effective.
The vaccine will be distributed first in hospitals, followed by GP surgeries and urban centers in stadiums and conference centers.
The doses, which are to be packed in dry ice, come from Belgium to a central warehouse in the UK, from where they will be shipped to NHS hospitals across the country.
The YouGov poll also asked participants whether Matt Hancock should get the vaccine on live television after the health secretary previously said he would if it helped persuade the public that it was safe.
Matt Hancock has previously stated that he would be happy to receive the jab on television if it helped persuade others to receive it as well.
Two-thirds (66 percent) of those surveyed said they would support the idea, while only 12 percent said they opposed it.
Britons on all sides of the political spectrum are in favor with 74 percent of Liberal Democrats, 73 percent of Conservatives and 68 percent of Labor responding positively.
Earlier today, Boris Johnson’s press secretary also suggested that the prime minister could be vaccinated live on television to show that the jab is safe.
Allegra Stratton said: ‘We all know the character of the Prime Minister, I don’t think it’s something that I dismiss.
“But what we also know is that he would not like to receive a blow that should be for someone who is extremely vulnerable, clinically vulnerable and who should receive it before him.”
People most at risk for coronavirus, those over 80 and nursing home residents, and healthcare workers will be first in line.
However, Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan has been calling on politicians to also get the vaccine early, and air it, to encourage eager Britons to follow suit.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock agreed to his proposal that they both take the hit in front of the cameras, adding it “would be worth it” if he persuaded people of their safety.
Matt Hancock (right) led Piers Morgan to his proposal that they take the hit in front of the cameras, adding that “it would be worth it” if he went after people for their safety. Similarly, Nicola Sturgeon (left) said: ‘If I thought it would help persuade someone, I will’
Similarly, speaking in her daily lecture, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “If I thought it would help persuade someone, I will.”
Morgan told the Secretary of Health on Good Morning Britain: ‘I will go to where you are any time next week if we can do this. Let’s do it together, live. It would be powerful, it would send the right message. ‘
Mr Hancock said, ‘Well, we would have to approve it because of course there is a prioritization according to clinical need, and fortunately as a healthy middle-aged man you are not at the top of the prioritization.
But if we can get it approved and if people think it’s reasonable, then I’m willing to do it because once the MHRA has approved a vaccine, they only do it if it’s safe.
“So if that can help someone else, persuade someone else to get vaccinated, then I think it’s worth it.”
A senior Conservative MP yesterday touted that the prime minister should stand in line for a vaccine to demonstrate his safety.
In the Commons, former minister Sir Desmond Swayne also said high-profile celebrities should support the vaccination campaign.
He said: ‘The way to persuade people to get vaccinated is to line up the whole government, their ministers and their loved ones and let them take it first, and then make all the luvvies, the icons of popular culture go on air. singing his praises.
Truck leaves the Pfizer plant in Belgium this morning after the vaccine was approved in the UK
Matt Hancock praised the approval of the jab this morning, stating that the end of the pandemic was now “in sight”, while Boris Johnson stated that it would “allow us to get our lives back and get the economy moving again.”
About 800,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, which requires people to receive two doses 21 days apart, will be available “starting next week.”
The UK has ordered 40 million doses in total, 10 million by the end of 2020 and the remainder next year.
Today, Hancock declared that the vaccination campaign is “one of the greatest civilian logistical efforts we have faced as a nation.”
“It will be difficult,” he said. “There will be challenges and complications, but I know the NHS is up to the task.”
He added: ‘We will meet the clinical prioritization and operational need due to the need to keep the vaccine at minus 70; makes this vaccine particularly difficult to implement. ‘
Mr. Hancock described how the vaccines will be rolled out across the country, including the use of “conference centers and sports facilities.”
He said: “ While we start vaccination next week, most of the vaccinations will be in the New Years, but I urge anyone requesting vaccination from the NHS to respond quickly to protect themselves, their loved ones. dear ones and your community.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock today thanked scientists at Pfizer and BioNTech after the approval of their COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use by the nation’s drug regulator.
“Over the next several months, we will see that vaccines will be administered in three different ways. First, we will begin the vaccinations in the hospital centers. Second, we will implement it through local community services, including GPs and eventually pharmacies as well.
Once the vaccine arrives in the UK from Pfizer’s plant in Belgium, the batches will be checked in a central warehouse to ensure quality.
The vaccine will then be unloaded and moved to storage freezers where it will undergo additional temperature control.
Public Health England (PHE) will process orders placed by the NHS for next day delivery to hospitals across the UK.
At this point, the first stage of the deployment process can begin.
