CRITICAL views of the Oxford AstraZeneca jab will have led to the premature deaths of many.

Oxford University Professor Sir John Bell said he thinks scientists and politicians 'probably killed hundreds of thousands of people' by damaging the reputation of the jab, that was created through Oxford University.

Speaking to the BBC he said: “They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world.

“I think bad behaviour from scientists and from politicians has probably killed hundreds of thousands of people – and that they cannot be proud of.”

The rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab in the UK saw Government advisers recommending under-40s should be offered alternatives due to a link to very rare blood clots.

Fears over links to blood clots also saw countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Iceland, and Thailand pause their use of the jab.

The vaccine has also not played a significant role in the booster campaign. The BBC reported it accounted for only 48,000 of the more than 37 million booster doses given in the UK.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Bicester local Katie Viney, who took part in the initial AstraZeneca trial with her husband Tony, and their daughter Rhiannon, said scaremongering would have 'affected people'.

The teaching assistant said: "I am sure it did affect people - I know Rhiannon actually had the AstraZeneca vaccine, but it wouldn't be given to her now, even though she was absolutely fine.

"But to be honest scaremongering is what people do, and rumours can spread.

"For us, because we took part in the trial, we never met anyone anti-vaccine and most people are worried about it will keep it to themselves."

She added that her family is 'incredibly proud' to have taken part in the trial.

Mrs Viney said: "We are very proud to have taken part, and of the Oxford science team - they were so ahead of the game manufacturing the vaccine, and now our country is thankfully one of the country's that is almost ready to get back to normal."

Oxfordshire County Council and NHS leaders are taking the opportunity to now thank staff across Oxfordshire, who helped deliver the vaccine and support the most vulnerable communities throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr David Chapman, Clinical Chair at Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Thank you to everyone who has contributed to delivering the vaccination programme over the past year, and those who have ensured critical health and care services have been delivered for the people of Oxfordshire.

"The extraordinary way we have worked together across the NHS, local authorities, the voluntary sector and communities has been fantastic."

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Tonight, a BBC Two documentary called AstraZeneca: A Vaccine For the World? will air at 9pm.