Four-in-ten Germans and French see AstraZeneca vaccine as unsafe
Four-in-ten Germans and French now see the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine unsafe, after politicians in both countries made unfounded claims about the effectiveness of the UK-manufactured jab.
New figures from YouGov show one-in-four Germans and French would refuse to take the AstraZeneca vaccine if offered – a growing sentiment that has lead to stocks of the vaccine in both countries going unused.
The figures show that the AstraZeneca jab is considered less safe than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine by people in Italy, Spain, Germany and France.
The results come after French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year made false claims that the AstraZeneca jab may not work on over-65s, after a report in the German Handelsblatt newspaper first made the claim citing German health ministry sources.
Macron’s claim was soon debunked by a swathe of data, with the President criticised by the French doctors’ union and the country’s vaccine coordinator for fanning anti-vaxx sentiments.
He has since backtracked on his comments and has insisted he himself would take the vaccine.
French authorities made the jab unavailable for over-65s, before backsliding earlier this week and changing the rules to allow everyone to take it.
German regulators made a similar U-turn this week, after also banning the AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s.
These spurious claims have severely dented take-up of the UK jab in Europe, with many in Germany and France going to waste.