Matt Hancock agrees to Piers Morgan’s challenge to take vaccine together on live TV

Matt Hancock has agreed to take the coronavirus vaccine on live TV to prove that it’s safe.

The health secretary accepted Piers Morgan’s challenge to get vaccinated live on Good Morning Britain, saying it would be ‘worth it’ if it persuaded others to take it.

This follows yesterday’s news that UK regulators have approved the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, with the NHS ready to start jabs from next week.

According to Mr Hancock around 800,000 doses will be available from next week, with about five million possibly due by the end of the year in the UK.

In total, the government has secured 40 million doses of the vaccine, with the elderly and most vulnerable set to be vaccinated first.

Piers suggested a televised injection on Good Morning Britain, saying: “I’ll come to where you are anytime next week if we can do this. Let’s do it together, live on air. It would be powerful, it would send the right message.”

ITV

Mr Hancock replied: “Well, we’d have to get that approved because, of course, there is a prioritisation according to clinical need and, thankfully, as a healthy, middle-aged man, you’re not at the top of the prioritisation.

“But if we can get that approved and if people think that’s reasonable then I’m up for doing that because once the MHRA has approved a vaccine – they only do that if it is safe.

“And so, if that can help anybody else, persuade anybody else that they should take the vaccine then I think it’s worth it.”