Nurse vaccinated at Chase Farm Hospital in front of Boris Johnson

Prime Minister Boris Johnson watches as junior sister Susan Cole is injected with the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine during a visit to Chase Farm Hospital in north London, part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. The NHS is ramping up its vaccination programme with 530,000 doses of the newly approved jab available for rollout across the UK.

Nurse Susan Cole received the Oxford vaccine at Chase Farm Hospital in north London in front of Boris Johnson.

She said she was surprised to see the Prime Minister there but had known a VIP would be visiting.

The 60-year-old added: “It was just really surreal, I knew there was going to be a VIP, but I just thought it would be a local MP.

“My husband was joking it would be the PM and I said ‘don’t be daft’, so it was a surprise.

“He (Mr Johnson) asked how I felt about having the vaccine and we talked a little bit about how important it was not just for the person but to protect other people.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to nurse Susan Cole

Today Boris Johnson said tougher coronavirus restrictions would be announced soon in a bid to bring down rates of Covid-19, which are soaring across the UK.

The prime minister said: "If you look at the numbers there's no question we will have to take tougher measures and we will be announcing those in due course."

He said there are "tough, tough" weeks to come in the battle with Covid-19, with a new South African variant of the virus adding worries about fast-spreading variations of coronavirus.


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