One FIFTH of Britons are still not convinced the Pfizer vaccine is safe

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One fifth of Britons are still unsure the Pfizer vaccine is safe while two thirds said Health Secretary Matt Hancock should be given the jab live on air, according to a new survey by YouGov.

Researchers asked more than 5,000 adults in Britain how confident they were that the new Pfizer vaccine is safe.

In response, 20 per cent of those asked said they were either not confident at all or not very confident that the vaccine would be safe. 

Just over a quarter (27 per cent) of people said they are ‘very confident’ it will be safe while 43 per cent said they are ‘somewhat confident’.

When asked if the vaccine should be mandated by law, most Britons said they would be opposed to it being made legally compulsory. 

Almost half of people (44 per cent) said they did not think a law should be passed while 37 per cent said they would support the idea.

Support was highest among Liberal Democrats (45 per cent) with Conservatives and Labour coming in at 43 per cent and 39 per cent respectively.

Britain’s drug regulator the MHRA today became the first in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine and the jab will become available to some members of the public as soon as next week.

Initial batches of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are already heading to Britain after a clinical trial suggested it was 95 per cent effective.

The vaccine will be distributed at hospitals first, followed by GP surgeries and city hubs in stadiums and conference centres.

Doses – which have to be packed in dry ice – are coming from Belgium to a central warehouse in the UK, from which they will be sent to NHS hospitals around the country.

The YouGov survey also asked participants whether Matt Hancock should be given the vaccine on live television after the health secretary previously said he would do so if it helped persuade the public it was safe.

Matt Hancock has previously stated he would be happy to receive the jab on television if it helped to persuade others to get it as well. 

Two thirds (66 per cent) of those asked said they would support the idea while only 12 per cent said they were opposed to it.

Britons from all sides of the political spectrum are in favour with 74 per cent of Lib Dems, 73 per cent of Conservatives and 68 per cent of Labour responding positively.

Earlier today, Boris Johnson’s press secretary also suggested the Prime Minister could be vaccinated live on TV to prove the jab is safe.

Allegra Stratton said: ‘We all know the character of the Prime Minister, I don’t think it would be something that he would rule out.

‘But what we also know is that he wouldn’t want to take a jab that should be for somebody who is extremely vulnerable, clinically vulnerable, and who should be getting it before him.’

People at the most risk from coronavirus – the over 80s and care home residents – and health workers will be first in line.  

However Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan has been calling on politicians to also receive the vaccine early – and be broadcast on air – to encourage anxious Britons to follow suit.  

Health Secretary Matt Hancock took him up on his proposal that they both take the jab in front of the cameras, adding that it ‘would be worth it’ if it persuaded people of its safety. 

Similarly, speaking at her daily conference, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘If I thought it would help persuade anybody I will do it.’ 

Morgan told the Health Secretary on Good Morning Britain: ‘I’ll come to where you are anytime next week if we can do this. Let’s do it together, live on air. It would be powerful, it would send the right message.’

Mr 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, middle-aged 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.

‘And so, if that can help anybody else, persuade anybody else that they should take the vaccine then I think it’s worth it.’  

That the Prime Minister should be at the front of the queue for a vaccine in order to demonstrate its safety was touted yesterday by a senior Tory MP. 

In the Commons former minister Sir Desmond Swayne also said high-profile celebrities should throw their weight behind the vaccination drive.

He said: ‘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.’ 

Matt Hancock hailed the jab’s approval this morning, claiming an end to the pandemic was now ‘in sight’, while Boris Johnson declared it would ‘allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again’.

Some 800,000 doses of the Pfizer’s vaccine – which requires people getting two doses 21 days apart – will be made available ‘from next week’.

The UK has ordered 40million doses in total, with 10m due by the end of 2020 and the rest next year.

Today, Mr Hancock declared the vaccine drive ‘one of the biggest civilian logistical efforts that we’ve faced as a nation’.

‘It will be difficult,’ he said. ‘There will be challenges and complications, but I know that the NHS is equal to the task.’

He added: ‘We will deliver according to clinical prioritisation and operational necessity because of the need to hold the vaccine at minus 70 – it makes this vaccine particularly challenging to deploy.’

Mr Hancock outlined how vaccines will be rolled out across the country, including using ‘conference centres and sports venues’.

He said: ‘While we begin vaccination next week the bulk of the vaccinations will be in the New Year, but I would urge anyone called forward for vaccination by the NHS to respond quickly to protect themselves, their loved ones and their community.

‘Over the next few months, we will see vaccines delivered in three different ways. First, we will begin vaccinations in hospital hubs. Second, we’ll deploy through local community services including GPs and, in due course, pharmacies too.

Once the vaccine arrives in the UK from Pfizer’s plant in Belgium, batches will be checked at a central warehouse to ensure their quality.

The vaccine will then be unloaded and moved to storage freezers where it will undergo an additional temperature check.

Public Health England (PHE) will process orders placed by the NHS for next day delivery to hospital hubs around the UK.

At this point, the first stage of the rollout process can begin.