‘Vax’ chosen as word of the year by Oxford English Dictionary firm

Accolade reflects how use of the short form of vaccine' rose by 72 times in a year and spread across society

In a year when talk over the virtual garden fence has focused on whether you have been jabbed, jagged or had both doses yet, and whether it was Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna you were injected with, Oxford Languages has chosen vax as its word of the year.

After deciding last year that it was impossible to sum up 2020 in one word, the company that produces the Oxford English Dictionary said the shorthand for vaccine had injected itself into the bloodstream of the English language" this year during the Covid pandemic.