On Thursday, UK Boris Johnson has assured the nation that the EU's threat to ban vaccine exports to Britain is nothing to worry about.
"I think that people should be under no anxiety or misapprehension about that," Johnson said at a news conference in Downing Street.
He stressed that the production of Covid-19 jabs is a multi-national effort.
"Whatever you may hear about the pressures that different countries are under to deliver vaccines for their public, these vaccines are a multi-national effort and they are produced as the result of international cooperation and we in the UK will continue to view it in that spirit," Johnson added.
Britain, currently gripped by one of the world's strictest lockdowns, is ahead of mainland Europe regarding its vax rollout.
The UK’s national vaccination programme is quickly progressing in comparison to EU states, with more than 25 million Brits having had their first dose, compared to only four million in France.
The bitter exchange between EU and UK leaders, including European Council President Charles Michel and UK PM Johnson, over blocking exports of Covid-19 jabs has made the headlines in the past few days.
Johnson will receive his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Friday after reassuring the public it's "safe." Johnson, 56, also urged people to get vaccinated, adding that there's "no change" to England's roadmap out of lockdown.
Following the Thursday announcement by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) that the AstraZeneca vaccine was "safe and effective" despite concerns that it caused blood clots, several EU states have resumed use of the jab.
Britain has secured access to seven vaccine candidates, including 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.
