Poll: Many Britons would not feel safe taking Chinese or Russian jabs

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Vaccine nationalism? Many Britons say they would not feel safe taking Chinese or Russian jabs even if they are approved for use by UK regulators – but a huge 90% back the Oxford version

  • Poll shows some 73 per cent of people say it does not matter which jab they get 
  • But the survey found there is varying levels of backing for different vaccines 
  • Some 87 per cent said they would feel safe receiving the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

By Jack Maidment, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Many Britons would not feel safe receiving a Chinese or Russian coronavirus jab even if it had been approved for use by UK regulators, a new poll suggests. 

An exclusive survey conducted for MailOnline found that approximately a third of Brits said they would not feel safe getting those jabs.

However, some 73 per cent of respondents in the Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll said it does not matter to them which specific coronavirus vaccine they receive.  

Meanwhile, some 87 per cent said they would feel safe receiving the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine compared to just three per cent who said they would feel unsafe and nine per cent who said they did not know.  

A Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll asked people whether they would feel safe or unsafe receiving different vaccines 

The poll, conducted on February 3, asked people who have not yet received a coronavirus vaccine but who intend to get one how they would feel about different jabs, provided they are approved for use in the UK. 

The UK-made Oxford/AstraZeneca jab received the highest level of backing while the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was second. 

Some 80 per cent of respondents said they would feel safe receiving the German/US-made vaccination, with just five per cent saying they would feel unsafe and 15 per cent who said they did not know.    

However, the numbers were significantly lower for a selection of vaccines made in Russia and China. 

Some 31 per cent of respondents said they would feel safe receiving the Sputnik V jab from Russia while 29 per cent said they would feel unsafe.  

Some 24 per cent said they would feel safe receiving the Sinovac vaccine from China while 35 per cent said they would feel unsafe.  

For the US-made Novavax jab, some 56 per cent said they would feel safe compared to 10 per cent who said they would feel unsafe. 

For the US-made Moderna vaccine, some 62 per cent said they would feel safe while 10 per cent said they would feel unsafe.