Hancock: Over 50s will be offered jab by May
HALF of all UK adults will be offered a Covid jab by May 1, ministers have confirmed.
Officials signalled around 32 million people – those over 50 and others in high-risk groups – will have been invited for a vaccination by the May Day bank holiday weekend.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the timetable for first doses and said yesterday: “My plan is that we should be able to offer a vaccine in categories one to nine, that’s all the over 50s, by May.
But he warned “lots of things have got to go right” to hit that target, especially the supply of jabs.
Mr Hancock said even though the vaccine programme was going “great guns” with nearly 11.5 million protected, it was still too early to say what lockdown restrictions could be eased in March.
He said the 31,670 people currently in hospital with Covid was “far, far too many” and added: “The NHS is still under pressure and we’ve all got to do our bit to keep those case rates coming down.”
Government figures yesterday showed more than half a million have had second vaccine doses.
The timetable had earlier slipped out by accident when the Cabinet Office revealed the expectation of hitting the target was the reason for allowing local elections on May 6.
Previously, ministers insisted the first phase of the jabs rollout would be completed by “the spring”.
The timeline sparked more pressure from Tory backbenchers for Boris Johnson to speed up easing Covid lockdown across England.
But Government scientists continued to urge the Prime Minister to proceed with caution in case of another virus surge.
Former chief whip Mark Harper, who chairs the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs, said: “It’s great news that the local elections are going ahead on May 6 and that all over-50s will have been offered a chance to have had their all-important first jab by that date too.
“These top nine groups account for around 99 per cent of those that have died from Covid and about 80 per cent of hospital admissions.
“It will be almost impossible to justify having any restrictions in place at all by that point.”
He added: “Just like Covid, lockdowns and restrictions cause immense harm to people’s health and livelihoods and we need to lift them as soon as it is safe to do so.
“Once the top four risk groups have been vaccinated by February 15 and protected by March 8, the Government must start easing the restrictions.
“And given that Scotland and Wales have indicated that schools will start to open from February 22, we need to know why English schools need to be kept shut for longer.”
Mr Harper pointed out the top four at-risk groups account for about 88 per cent of Covid deaths and about 55 per cent of hospital admissions. Adding that last month Mr Hancock told MPs he would be watching those rates “like a hawk”, he said: “This is the test for lifting restrictions.
“I agree with the Health Secretary when he said these restrictions must not be kept in place a moment longer than necessary.” Mr Johnson has promised to publish a “road map” for easing restrictions on February 22, with schools expected to reopen from March 8. Downing Street would not comment on reports outdoor sport and limited open-air social mixing would be permitted after pupils return to classrooms.
Professor Graham Medley, chairman of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, warned ministers should “make decisions dependent on the circumstances, rather than being driven by a calendar of wanting to do things”.
Meanwhile, in a sign current measures are working, the reproduction number – R value – of coronavirus transmission across the UK fell to between 0.7 and 1, according to the latest figures, down from between 0.7 and 1.1 last week.
Office for National Statistics estimates showed about one in 65 in England’s private households had the virus from January 24-30, compared with one in 55 the previous week. But the daily virus death toll rose by 1,014 yesterday, with 19,114 more positive Covid tests.
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) analysis showed vaccines rolled out across the UK were safe and the
“overwhelming majority” of suspected side effects mild.
The watchdog said research showed a reporting rate of three suspected side effects for every 1,000 doses of vaccine given. Issues were similar to those for the flu vaccine.
MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine said: “The data provides further reassurance that the Covid19 vaccines are safe and continue to meet rigorous regulatory standards required for all vaccines.
“We remain confident that the benefits of these vaccines outweigh any risks.”
By January 24, around 5.4 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and 1.5 million of the Oxford/ AstraZeneca jab had been given in the UK.
There were around 16,700 reports of possible side effects for the Pfizer vaccine and 6,000 for the Oxford jab. Younger people were more likely to report symptoms.
A small minority involved more severe potential reactions, including 114 suspected allergic responses. All were thought to have recovered.
There were 75 reports of facial paralysis or weakness, known as Bell’s palsy, mostly among Pfizer recipients.
But regulators said it could also occur naturally and there was no clear evidence of a vaccine link.
Some 107 reports involved patients who died shortly after having the Pfizer/BioNTech jab with 34 such reports for the Oxford vaccine.
Most were among people who were elderly or had underlying health conditions and experts said there were “no alarm bells”.
But Mr Johnson urged the public to continue following the rules despite the successes with the rollout. He said that on February 22 he would “set out the beginnings of our road map for a way forward” and “a steady programme for beginning to unlock”.
But he warned: “I want to stress that it is still early days and we have rates of infection in this country [that are] still very, very high and more people – almost twice as many – in our hospitals with Covid now than there were back at the peak in April. “Do remember how tough it still is, and that we must work together to get it down – that’s the fundamental thing to get right.”