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Downing Street tried to obtain doses of the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine labeled with a picture of the Union Jack, it was reported.
According to the Huffington Post, the newly formed “Union unit” of No. 10, which is tasked with fighting calls for Scottish independence and other campaigns to divide the UK, wanted the injection kits to carry the flag.
The government’s vaccine working group was asked to ensure that manufacturers of the vaccine, developed in conjunction with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, used the UK flag, according to the report.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson denied that there were plans to put a flag on vaccines, but did not deny that there had been an attempt to do so. “There are no plans for the Union Jack to dose. It is true that the manufacture of some of the main vaccines has already begun, so they can be ready when they are approved. Manufacturers know well how to package products like this, ”he said.
The government is under pressure to fight calls for independence in Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon, the prime minister and leader of the Scottish national party, has said that she aims to seek a second independence referendum “in the first part” of the next Scottish parliament. The SNP is the favorite to win the 2021 Holyrood election, having held the balance of power in Edinburgh since 2007.
While Johnson’s Scottish secretary, Alister Jack, has said there should be no second referendum for “25 to 40 years,” ministers are privately concerned about the rise in support for the issue since the pandemic began.
Support has also been growing steadily for a vote on Welsh independence, and the debate over Irish unity after Brexit has been renewed, due to the threat of a hard border.
The makers of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine have said they plan to conduct an additional global trial to evaluate the drug, after questions were raised about some of its original results.
The partners announced last week that the vaccine was 70% effective overall. For the majority of trial participants, who received two full doses, spaced one month apart, the efficacy was 62%, but for 3,000 participants who mistakenly received half a dose for their first prick, the efficacy was 90%. No participant, regardless of dose, developed severe Covid or was admitted to hospital with the disease.
The robustness of the results was questioned after it emerged that the group that received the low dose of the vaccine did not include any participants older than 55 years, which means that it is not clear if the 90% efficacy is valid for adults older, who are at higher risk. of Covid.
When asked if the government had pressured the Oxford team to speed up the announcement of the test results, the prime minister’s spokesman replied: “No.”
He said the independent regulator would make the final decision on when each vaccine could be administered. “It is the role of the MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency] to evaluate all the details of those trials and we will only launch the vaccine once it is deemed safe and effective, “he said.
