Where is the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid vaccine made?
BRITAIN'S coronavirus vaccination programme is in full swing and so far over 24.1 million people have received a first dose of a jab.
Doses from Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech are being administered up and down the country.
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As well as 24.1 million having had a first dose, over 1.5 million have also had a second jab.
One jab, created by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, has been hailed as a triumph for British science.
Around 11 million doses of this jab have been given to Brits.
Brits started receiving the “game-changing” Oxford/AstraZeneca jab on January 4 .
But despite the fanfare around the jab, the Netherlands today suspended the use of the vaccine after reports of blood clots.
It follows on from other European countries who last week halted use of the jab as well as Thailand.
AstraZeneca have said the jab is "safe" after it tested 17 million doses of the vaccine and found "no link to higher blood clot risk".
Experts in the UK have urged people to continue to get their jab.
Here we take a closer look at where the jab is made and how effective it is.
Where is the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid vaccine made?
The Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine is mainly being produced in the UK, though other sites across Europe are being used to manufacture the first doses of the jab.
Ian McCubbin, manufacturing lead for the UK's Vaccine Taskforce said while the initial supply had come from the Netherlands and Germany after this the supply chain would be completely UK based.
The jab takes a different approach to the Pfizer vaccine, and is made from a weakened version of the adenovirus (the common cold) from chimpanzees.
After being injected into a patient, the vaccine prompts the immune system to develop antibodies which fight Covid-19.
Who will get the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid vaccine first?
Brian Pinker, 82, became the first patient to receive the jab at Oxford University Hospital at 7.30am on January 4.
The Oxford jab is the second vaccine to be rolled out in the UK, after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was first given to 91-year-old Margaret Keenan on December 8, 2020.
Mass vaccination sites across the country have been set up to help get the jabs into the arms of as many Brits as possible.
GP surgeries and pharmacies will also be administering the jab.
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunology - the JCVI - has drawn up a list of nine priority groups who will receive the vaccine first.
The first group to be vaccinated is the over 80s and care home residents, as well as front-line health and care staff.
The jab is now being rolled out to those in their 50s and it was last week reported that people in their 30s could receive their vaccine as soon as next month after 10 more million doses became available.
The Prime Minister has said that he wants all adults to be jabbed by July.
Brits cannot choose which vaccine they will receive.
How many vaccines will I need?
The Medicine and Health Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved a two-dose regimen for the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine.
Patients will receive their second dose four to twelve weeks after the first, as the government shifts its focus to giving Brits the first dose urgently.
We do not yet know how long protection from the vaccines will last.
Brits may need to go for annual vaccinations, as with the flu, but there is no further evidence yet on the duration of immunity.
How many doses of the vaccine do we have?
Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine, enough for 50 million people.
It can be stored in a fridge making it easier to get into care homes and GP surgeries.
Along with the 40 million doses of the Pfizer treatment, Britain will have enough to protect the entire population.
How effective is the vaccine?
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been shown to be completely safe, and can provoke an immune response in people of all ages, including the elderly.
A study release by Public Health England (PHE) at the start of this month, revealed that a single dose of either vaccine can reduce the risk of hospitalisation in the over 80s by 80 per cent.
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that "a single shot of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine or of the Pfizer vaccine works against severe infection among the over-70s with a more than 80 per cent reduction in hospitalisations".
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference he said: "In fact, the detailed data show that the protection that you get from catching Covid 35 days after a first jab is even slightly better for the Oxford jab than for Pfizer, albeit both results are clearly very strong".
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Less than 10 Covid patients over 80 are being sent to ICU each day.
The Health Secretary said: "These results may... help to explain why the number of Covid admissions to intensive care units among people over 80 in the UK have dropped to single figures in the last couple of weeks, which is something I know that we all welcome."