Vaccines ‘doing job’ as cases drop

VACCINES are “definitely doing the job” and everything is moving in the right direction, experts said yesterday.

Coronavirus infection rates have fallen dramatically in recent weeks, paving the way for the Prime Minister to unveil his road map out of lockdown on Monday.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and

Immunisation, said: “We’ve now got to the point with the study we’re doing in Bristol where we can say with certainty that there is definitely an effect.

“It’s just hard to put an exact number on it... but it’s becoming clearer for the Pfizer vaccine, which we’ve been using for a month longer, and it’ll take slightly longer for us to get a firm handle on just how well the AstraZeneca vaccine is preventing hospitalisations, but they’re definitely doing the job.”

The number of people who have received a first dose passed 16.8 million yesterday, with 12,027 further cases and 533 deaths reported across the UK.

people. When it comes to lifting lockdown, we need to go by the data not arbitrary dates.

For example, when the rate of infection is well below 100 per 100,000, that would be an indicator to ease up.

We need to exercise caution and carry on immunising as many people as possible, as fast as possible.

I understand the concerns of those calling for lockdown to end. But if we don’t do this right, we will end up in this position again.

Now is the time to wear your mask and increase ventilation in indoor places.