Roll up your sleeves Boris! Poll finds 58% want the PM to take coronavirus vaccine live on TV with just 16% opposed after Joe Biden said he will set an example to reassure the public
- EXCLUSIVE: Poll finds 58 per cent would back PM getting a vaccine live on TV
- Just 16 per cent were against the idea to set an example that the jab is safe
- Joe Biden said he would be 'happy' to be filmed when vaccine is approved in US
A huge majority of Britons want to see Boris Johnson take the coronavirus vaccine live on TV, a poll found today.
Research for MailOnline showed 58 per cent back the PM underlining his confidence about safety by having the jab on screen.
Just 16 per cent were against the idea - despite ministers voicing concerns about being seen to jump the queue.
The survey by Redfield & Wilton Strategies emerged as US president-elect Joe Biden indicated he is ready to be filmed getting vaccinated.
Nicola Sturgeon and Matt Hancock are among the other UK politicians who have said they would be willing to do so if it helps reassure the public.
Research for MailOnline showed 58 per cent back the PM underlining his confidence about safety by having the jab on screen
The survey by Redfield & Wilton Strategies emerged as US president-elect Joe Biden (pictured) indicated he is ready to be filmed getting vaccinated
The poll was carried out on Wednesday, after Britain became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer jab. Some 35 per cent 'strongly' agreed that Mr Johnson should be filmed, while another 23 per cent were in favour.
Millions of doses are due in the country before Christmas, while hopes are running high that other versions will be cleared by regulators soon - crucially including the one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
Asked earlier this week whether Mr Johnson would be willing to have a jab on TV, his press secretary Allegra Stratton said: 'We all know the character of the Prime Minister, I don't think it would be something that he would rule out.'But what we also know is that he wouldn't want to take a jab that should be for somebody who is extremely vulnerable, clinically vulnerable, and who should be getting it before him.'
Mr Hancock said the stunt 'would be worth it' if it persuaded people of its safety.
Mr Sturgeon said: 'If I thought it would help persuade anybody I will do it.'
In an interview with CNN, Mr Biden said he would be 'happy' to be filmed getting the vaccine when it is approved in the US. Barack Obama, George Bush and Bill Clinton have also said they would set an example.
'When (US health chief Anthony) Fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, that's the moment in which I will stand before the public,' Mr Biden said.
'People have lost faith in the ability of the vaccine to work...
'It matters what a president and vice president do. I think my three predecessors have set the model on what should be done.'
Nicola Sturgeon (left) and Matt Hancock (right) are among the other UK politicians who have said they would be willing to do so if it helps reassure the public
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