Matt Hancock and chief scientists are seeking to maintain public confidence in the Oxford/AstraZenecavaccine after regulators pointed to a one in a million chance of dying from a rare blood clot.
The Health Secretary said everyone should take a vaccine when their time comes, and the risk of experiencing a brain clot was the same as “taking a long-haul flight”.
He urged the under-30s, who will be offered an alternative vaccine to AstraZeneca, to take a jab to protect loved ones and avoid the risk of long Covid, adding there were plentiful supplies of Moderna and Pfizer for this age range.
It comes after solicitor Neil Astles, 59, died from a blood clot after having the AstraZeneca vaccine.
His family have urged the public to “keep saving lives” by having the vaccine.
“We trust the regulator, and despite what has happened to our family, we don't want people to be scared off,” his sister told the Daily Telegraph.
In the UK 79 people are known to have suffered clotting after receiving the vaccine, and 19 have died.
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