W
HEN PFIZER and BioNTech unveiled their covid-19 vaccine, politicians from across Europe bustled to claim a slice of credit. German politicians reminded people that BioNTech was founded by two Germans of Turkish origin. Belgian ones were quick to note that the vaccine is manufactured in Belgium.
EU officials hailed the way in which 27 countries had clubbed together to buy up enough stocks. Britain had to content itself with boasting that its regulators were the quickest to approve the drug.
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Yet for a surprisingly large number of Europeans, a different emotion came before pride: paranoia. Despite scrupulous tests showing that the vaccine is safe, many people doubt it. One in three French people thinks vaccines in general are unsafe the highest figure for any country, according to the Wellcome Trust, a British charity. A whopping 46% say they would reject a covid-19 vaccine when offered it, according to an Ipsos