A third of Brits have backed compulsory coronavirus vaccinations
A third of Britons think coronavirus vaccines should be compulsory.
The UK became the first country in the world to approve a vaccine on Wednesday after the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was given the go-ahead by the regulator.
Following the announcement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated in the Commons people would not be forced to take the vaccine when it was rolled out from next week, adding “that's not how we do things” in Britain.
A new YouGov poll has now revealed around 1 in 3 (37%) back compulsory vaccinations.
In total 44% opposed the idea and a further 18% didn’t know.
Watch: Boris Johnson hails Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine
In a different poll, a majority of people said they were confident in the safety of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
The survey showed 43% were somewhat confident, with another 27% very confident.
But it also revealed 11% were not very confident in the jab, 9% were not confident at all and 10% didn’t know.
Johnson hailed the work of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which gave it the go-ahead for the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.
The PM said: “It’s fantastic. The vaccine will begin to be made available across the UK from next week.
“It’s the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again.”
By 44% to 37% Britons would oppose the government making it legally compulsory for all people in Britain to be vaccinated against COVID-19https://t.co/rtYleSMDmS pic.twitter.com/kfgtk8bkJm
— YouGov (@YouGov) December 2, 2020
Health secretary Matt Hancock said he expects to begin receiving the first shipment of 800,000 doses from Pfizer’s manufacturing centre in Belgium “within days”, and people will begin receiving jabs as soon as the NHS gets the vaccine.
Doses everywhere are scarce, and initial supplies will be rationed until more is manufactured in the first months of next year.
The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine – enough for just under a third of the population as two shots of the jab are needed per person to gain immunity.
Pfizer/BioNTech said last month final results from the late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine showed it was 95% effective.
Overall the UK has access to 357 million doses of vaccines from seven developers, according to the government.
It has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford vacine and has targeted a rollout to begin before Christmas if it is approved.
Watch: How England's new three-tier COVID system will work
