Nicola Sturgeon: 'Boris Johnson is marginally older than me'

Nicola Sturgeon pointed out that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “marginally older” than her and will therefore be ahead of her in the vaccine queue as the Prime Minister announced he would ensure he is given the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The First Minister said she was “not sure” of the ethics surrounding a politician choosing to take one type of vaccine over another, when the general population does not get to choose.

Mr Johnson said at Prime Ministers’ Questions on Wednesday that he would make sure he has the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been the subject of controversy in some European countries amid claims that it is linked to an increased risk of blood clots.

The UK's medicines watchdog, the MHRA, has insisted that evidence "does not suggest" the jab causes clots.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the House of Commons

Ms Sturgeon said: “The Prime Minister, I think, is marginally older than me, so he will probably get his vaccine slightly before me, but only marginally older than me I think. I’m hoping to get my vaccine in the next few weeks.

"I’ll get the vaccine as soon as it is offered to me and I’ll get it whether its Pfizer or Oxford-AstraZeneca. I want vaccinated and I will have no hesitation in getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.”

While Ms Sturgeon is 50, Mr Johnson is 56.

Mr Johnson said he wanted to take the AstraZeneca vaccine to prove its safety to the public.

In response to a question from Conservative MP Steve Brine about what the Prime Minister could to restore trust in the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab after several European countries halted their rollout of the vaccine amid safety concerns, Mr Johnson said he would soon receive his vaccination and added that it would "certainly" be the Oxford-AstraZeneca version.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I don’t know the ethics of demanding in a way that nobody else can of demanding one over the other. I’m very enthusiastic about getting this vaccine, but I never wanted to get anything that other people don’t have or quicker than other people.

"If I’m offered the Astra Zeneca vaccine, I will get it without a heartbeat of hesitation and the sooner the better.”

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