Hancock: Brexit helped UK to speedy approval of Covid vaccine
Matt Hancock has argued that Brexit helped the UK become the first western country to license a coronavirus vaccine, also saying he would be willing to be vaccinated on live TV as a way to encourage take-up.
In a broadcast round on Wednesday morning following the announcement that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been authorised for emergency use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), the UK health secretary credited Brexit as a reason behind the quick move.
“Firstly, because the MRHA has done a great job of working with the company to look at that data as it’s come through and do things in parallel, rather than one after the other as they normally would, that’s the first reason,” Hancock told Times Radio.
“The second reason is because, whilst until earlier this year we were in the European Medicines Agency, because of Brexit we’ve been able to make a decision to do this based on the UK regulator, a world-class regulator, and not go at the pace of the Europeans, who are moving a little bit more slowly.
“We do all the same safety checks and the same processes, but we have been able to speed up how they’re done because of Brexit.”
In another interview, with ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Hancock said he would agree to a live, on-air vaccination to spread the message of the importance of being vaccinated – but only with official authorisation.
Asked by Piers Morgan if they could both be vaccinated on TV, Hancock said: “Well, we’d have to get that approved because, of course, there is a prioritisation according to clinical need and, thankfully, as a healthy, middleaged man, you’re not at the top of the prioritisation.
“But if we can get that approved and if people think that’s reasonable then I’m up for doing that because once the MHRA has approved a vaccine – they only do that if it is safe.
“If that can help anybody else, persuade anybody else that they should take the vaccine, then I think it’s worth it.”
The government has reportedly been considering using trusted celebrities to push the pro-vaccination message to counter conspiracy theories about vaccines spread online.
In Tuesday’s Commons debate about the new system of tiered Covid restrictions for England, which have replaced the four-week lockdown, one Conservative MP told Boris Johnson he should form part of this effort.
“The way to persuade people to have a vaccine is to line up the entire government and its ministers and their loved ones and let them take it first, and then get all the luvvies, the icons of popular culture out on the airwaves singing its praises,” said Desmond Swayne.