Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

BBC’s Andrew Marr says he caught Covid-19 AFTER vaccine

BBC’s Andrew Marr says he caught Covid-19 AFTER vaccine

BBC journalist Andrew Marr says he caught a “nasty” bout of Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated. Government advisers say this is normal, and similar cases are cropping up around the world.

Speaking on his Sunday programme after a week off, Marr told viewers that “he had a bit of Covid last week, despite being double jabbed, and very nasty it was too.” Marr described his symptoms like those of a “summer cold,” and asked guest Professor Peter Horby, a government adviser on the coronavirus, whether he was “just unlucky” to catch the virus after being fully vaccinated.

“I think you were,” Horby replied. Vaccines, he said, “are actually remarkably effective at preventing hospitalisations and deaths. They are less effective at preventing infection.”


“So, although you were sick, you weren’t hospitalised and there wasn’t any fatality, and that is probably because of the vaccination.”

Marr is 61 years old and was vaccinated earlier this spring. He suggested on Sunday that he may have caught the virus while covering the G7 summit in Cornwall earlier this month.

Marr’s case is one of many around the world in which fully vaccinated people have managed to catch the virus regardless. Two American guests aboard a “fully vaccinated” cruise ship made headlines when they tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month, and a study back in April found that among fully vaccinated US workers, around 1% still got infected. Altogether in the US, more than 4,100 people have been hospitalised or died after catching Covid-19 post-vaccination, according to data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). No comparable data from the UK is readily available, but the country has one of the world’s highest rates of vaccination, and has seen new cases tick steadily upwards since the beginning of summer.

Though vaccines are regarded – at least in the public consciousness – as a ticket to safety and normality after a year of outbreaks and lockdowns, health officials are still recommending that social distancing guidelines be adhered to.

“People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves,” Dr. Mariangela Simao, World Health Organisation assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said during a briefing on Friday.

“People need to continue to use masks consistently, be in ventilated spaces, hand hygiene… the physical distance, avoid crowding. This still continues to be extremely important, even if you’re vaccinated when you have a community transmission ongoing,” Simao added.

In the UK, that community transmission has been driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, first detected in India. This variant, which is thought to spread more rapidly than others, now accounts for 95% of cases sequenced in the UK, per data from Public Health England.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
×