Boris Johnson is given his first Covid vaccination and urges others to ‘go and get it’

‘Don’t just listen to me, listen to all the scientists. The risk is Covid, this is a great thing to do’

Boris Johnson has urged everybody called for a vaccination to “go and get it”, after receiving his first jab.

The prime minister was inoculated – with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – at the London hospital where he was treated in intensive care for Covid-19 last year.

“I literally did not feel a thing and so it was very good, very quick,” Mr Johnson told reporters as he left St Thomas’ Hospital, wearing a sticker to show he had received the jab.

“You know what I’m going to say – I cannot recommend it too highly. Everybody, when you get your notification to go for a jab, please go and get it. It’s the best thing for you, the best thing for your family, and for everybody else.”

Asked what he would say to people worried by some EU countries suspending use of the vaccine, he replied: “Don’t just listen to me, listen to all the scientists. The risk is Covid, this is a great thing to do.”

Earlier, the 56-year-old was pictured with his left shirtsleeve rolled up to the shoulder, being injected with a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

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Another photo showed the prime minister sitting in the chair where he received the vaccination, raising both thumbs in the air.

Mr Johnson is among more than 26 million people in the UK who have received at least their first dose of a vaccine.