GBP/USD  is exhibiting signs of weakness in early trading on Friday, with the Sterling being one of the few leading currencies to post a loss against the US dollar this week over rising worries about the AstraZeneca vaccine. At the time of writing, GBP/USD is trading around 1.369.

So far this week, GBP/USD has lost around 0.7% of its value even as other major rivals have surged higher, making the most of the weakness in the dollar over the past few sessions. However, traders have turned cautious about the GBP for now over concerns that Britain may be over-relying on the Oxford University and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine even as other countries sound alarm about its possible side effects.

While some countries across Europe had temporarily suspended its use over concerns about possible blood clots forming after the administering of the vaccine, Australia and the Philippines have also controlled its usage for now. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has announced a delay on its use and the African Union is not planning to purchase the vaccine for use as of now.

This has dimmed the outlook for the GBP after markets were previously expecting bullish moves soon as the UK gears up to end the lockdowns and resume normal economic activity. The robust vaccine rollout and reopening of the economy had markets hopeful that the GBP could soon begin to make gains, especially against the Euro, but the news about the AstraZeneca vaccine has been a bit of a dampener on this optimism.