Johnson pledges to have Covid-19 jab as experts assure public they are safe
B oris Johnson has pledged to have the coronavirus vacc i n e a s E n g l a n d ' s d e p u t y chief medical officer said he would be happy to work evenings and weekends to vaccinate people himself.
Number 10 said the Prime Minister would be willing to have the jab after Professor Jonathan Van-tam said he had told his own mother to get ready to receive the vaccine.
Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said: “Any vaccines which are determined for use will undergo a vigorous series of safety checks, they will be absolutely safe for the public to use. And the Prime Minister would therefore, of course, be very happy to take the vaccine himself.”
Dur in g P r i me Mi n i s te r ' s Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson said science has given the country “two big boxing gloves” in the form of a possible vaccine and testing.
But he added: “Neither of them is capable of delivering a knock-out blow on its own. That's why this country needs to continue to work hard to keep discipline and to observe the measures we've put in.”
Earlier, Prof Van-tam told a Downing Street press conference that Britain is poised for the "most important vaccination programme we've done for decades".
The 56-year-old said he has a health condition that puts him at "medium to high" risk from Covid-19 but he will wait his turn to be vaccinated, with priority given to the elderly.
Asked whether high-profile Government figures such as himself or the Prime Minister should have a vaccine first to prove to the public it is safe, Prof Van-tam said he would be "at the front of the queue" if he was allowed.