Jonathan Van-Tam: ‘I’d be at the front of the queue’

“I will be having the vaccine. If I could be at the very front of the queue then I would be. But I can’t because privilege and position don’t count. All that counts is the JCVI recommendations regarding who’s most at risk, so it’s not appropriate for me to be at the top of the list. But if it would help convince others,

I would happily do so.

“I know I said on TV that I’m going to tell my mum to have one – she’s 78.

But I don’t really need to. I discussed the interview with her afterwards and she said, ‘Johnny, if you told me I had to get on a train to London tonight because I could have a vaccine later this evening, I’d be coat on and on the train in minutes. That’s how important it is to me. I know I’m elderly, I know I’m at risk and I know if I get coronavirus, there’s a greater chance that I’m not going to do well.’”