UK PM warns of possible third wave hitting country

"We are all facing the same pandemic, we all have the same problems, I think one thing is worth stressing, is that on the continent right now you can see sadly there is a third wave underway," Johnson said while speaking during a factory visit in Lancashire, according to CNN.

"People in this country should be under no illusions that previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends, I'm afraid washes up on our shores as well. And I expect that we will feel those affects in due course. That is why we are getting on with our vaccination program as fast as we can." Johnson added. Prime Minister Johnson talked down tension over a possible European Union blockaded of AstraZeneca exports to the UK.

"I'm reassured by talking to EU partners over the last few months that they don't want to see blockades, I think that's very very important -- but clearly what matters to us in the UK is to get on with the rollout of the vaccine program," Johnson said Monday during a factory visit in Lancashire, UK. CNN reported that the row between Brussels and London over the AstraZeneca vaccine is again heating up, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warning that the bloc could stop its exports from the EU.

"We have the option of prohibiting a planned export," von der Leyen said in an interview with Germany's Funke Mediengruppe over the weekend, according to CNN. "That is the message to AstraZeneca: You first fulfil your contract with Europe before you start delivering to other countries," she added.