Covid rates rising in a fifth of areas

Hancock warns country against complacency amid worrying figures:

MATT Hancock has told the public to “stick at” following the lockdown restrictions and other social distancing measures as he warned of a “stark picture” of coronavirus rates.

The Health Secretary told the Downing Street press conference the number of cases in England is down to one in 145 people but the rate of decline is “slowing”. He said the rate of hospital admissions and deaths are still “far too high”, and one in five local authorities has seen a rise in case rates in the last week.

“This stark picture shows that this isn’t over yet, the stay at home rules are still in place for a reason,” he said.

“This is on all of us to keep this under control, this is still a deadly virus. We will get through this but we have to stick at it.”

Meanwhile, people aged 40-49 are next in line for a Covid-19 vaccine after Government advisers concluded that vaccinating in order of age remained the quickest way to cut deaths.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) considered whether groups such as teachers and police officers should be vaccinated next, but concluded speed was of the upmost importance, while age was a major factor in serious illness.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 chair for the JCVI, told a press briefing that age “remains a dominant factor – it is still one of the most important causes of severe disease, even in those aged 50 years and below”. He said that even within different occupations it was older people who were more at risk than those who were younger.

The new guidance means that in phase two of the vaccine rollout, priority will be given in the following order: all those aged 40-49 all those aged 30-39 all those aged 18-29.

These groups will be vaccinated once all those in phase one (the over50s and most vulnerable) have been offered a jab, with the Government’s target for a first dose in phase one being mid-April.

Prof Lim said one of the difficulties with looking at vaccination according to occupation was that jobs were not very well recorded in GP records.

“Trying to work out the association between occupational risk and exposure and severe disease has been difficult enough, and I think structuring an entire mass vaccination programme around occupation would be even more difficult,” he said. “We know that an age-based programme is simple and works very well, and it seems sensible to continue with that, keeping an eye on speed because speed of deployment is the important factor.”

He said only one week’s advantage may have been gained in terms of the vaccine queue if age bands were subdivided. He said the “effort to try and do that may actually slow down the overall programme” and added: “Speed is important. Of all the different approaches to vaccination, getting vaccines into arms as quickly as possible is the fastest way and the best way to maximise benefit to the population.”

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at Public Health England, told the briefing the age-based approach would ensure more people were protected more quickly. She said that even within different occupations age was the dominant factor in severe disease, adding: “We would want a 40-year-old policeman to come forward before a 20-year-old policeman.