Johnson to Bolsonaro: vaccines save lives

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed the importance of coronavirus vaccines during a meeting with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who says he has not been inoculated.

The two men met Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. As journalists were ushered out of the room at the start of the bilateral meeting, Johnson said: "Thanks everybody, get AstraZeneca vaccines." Johnson told Bolsonaro: "I've had it twice," referring to the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed at Oxford University.

The Brazilian leader pointed at himself and said "not yet," then laughed.

In a statement after the meeting, Johnson's office said the prime minister had "underlined the importance of vaccines as our best tool to fight the virus and save lives around the world, and emphasised the important role the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has played in the UK, Brazil and elsewhere."