Health secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that Covid restrictions may be lifted before everyone has been offered the vaccine.
On TalkRadio earlier today, Hancock said “The reason we’re prioritising those who are clinically vulnerable is not just to make sure they’re protected as soon as possible, but that is also the fastest way to get all the restrictions lifted because once we’ve protected those who are likely to end up in hospital and those who are likely to die from coronavirus then we can rely on people’s personal responsibility to protect themselves rather than the current rules that we have in place.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock: "Once we've protected those who are likely to end up in hospital and to die from coronavirus, then we can rely on people's personal responsibility to protect themselves rather than the current rules that we have in place."@JuliaHB1 | @MattHancock pic.twitter.com/2IOoOjH3wo
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) December 8, 2020
He went on to say that exact timings would depend on how quickly the government would be able to source and roll-out the millions of doses needed to vaccinate the over 70s as well as frontline healthcare workers.
Hancock also addressed concerns about whether the vaccine prevented those who got it from transmitting the disease as well as contracting it.
Earlier today, the minister also appeared on Good Morning Britain and gave an emotional display as the first person in the world to receive the vaccine through the NHS got her jab. He was accused by some viewers of crocodile tears as he tearily said ‘It makes you so proud to be British’.
90-year-old Margaret Keenan, a grandmother originally from Northern Ireland, was the first to get immunised at her local hospital in Coventry, where she’s lived for over 60 years. The second was a man named William Shakespeare from Warwickshire.
The UK government has purchased 30 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer, enough for 15 million people as well as ordering 310million doses from other providers including Astrazeneca and Novavax.
