A high-profile doctor in northeast England has said patients turned down the chance to have the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, saying they would "wait for the English one".
Paul Williams, a former Labour MP, said it shows that nationalism has consequences, given they were delaying having a jab at the height of the pandemic.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was made available to patients in the UK at the start of December, while the Oxford/AstraZeneca version was authorised on 30 December.
Dr Williams was a GP before turning to politics, continued to see patients while he was an MP to maintain a link with them, and since he was voted out in 2019 has worked on the National Health Service's fight against Covid-19.
Writing on Twitter, he said: "Some local patients have turned down an offer this weekend of getting a Covid vaccine when they found out it was the Pfizer one. 'I'll wait for the English one'.
"People at risk of death in the depths of a pandemic. A lesson that Nationalism has consequences."
Some local patients have turned down an offer this weekend of getting a Covid vaccine when they found out it was the Pfizer one. "I'll wait for the English one".
— Dr Paul Williams (@PaulWilliamsLAB) January 7, 2021
People at risk of death in the depths of a pandemic.
A lesson that Nationalism has consequences.
