Source::Xinhuanet
LONDON,
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson received his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine Friday after reassuring the public it is "safe". Johnson, 56, also urged people to get vaccinated, adding that there is "no change" to England's roadmap out of lockdown.
The latest development came as several European countries are resuming using the AstraZeneca jab after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed it is "safe and effective". The EMA made the announcement on Thursday following an investigation into reports of blood clots in a small number of recipients.
The EMA said the benefits outweigh the risks and the vaccine is not linked to an "overall risk" of blood clots. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Thursday, Johnson said that the AstraZeneca jab is safe but "the thing that isn't safe is catching COVID, which is why it is so important that we all get our jabs as soon as our turn comes".
Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has also confirmed that the benefits of the vaccine in preventing COVID-19 far outweigh the risks, calling on people to continue to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
More than 25.7 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures. To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.
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