NOW JAB REST OF US
»»Valentine’s joy as 15m jab target is hit »»Salute to team behind huge rollout »»Boris raises hope of easing the lockdown
THE lockdown-weary country gets a Valentine’s Day gift from the NHS today as its dedicated team hits the target of 15 million vaccinations.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the milestone yesterday, saying: “We have made huge progress and that’s great.”
He spread the love even further, saying he was “optimistic” the UK can begin to come out of lockdown in a fortnight’s time – but warned restrictions would ease slowly.
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth reflected the mood of a grateful nation by praising the tireless work of doctors, nurses, GPs, pharmacists, soldiers and volunteers who made the rollout possible.
He added: “Going so quickly from labs to jabs is tribute to medical scientists and fantastic NHS staff. Each and every one is a hero we can be proud of.”
Hitting 15 million jabs by February 15 was the Government’s key goal in giving the vaccine to the elderly and most vulnerable, frontline NHS staff, care and social workers and care home residents.
More than 80 per cent of over-70s have had the jab and any who haven’t are urged to seek an appointment. From tomorrow, the next three million on the priority list, aged 65-69, can begin vaccinations.
Another 1.8 million 60 to 64-year-olds with underlying conditions will also be jabbed. NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens said: “This is an exciting moment as we now move on to those aged 65 and over and the clinically vulnerable.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock (right) said: “The vaccination programme is continuing
at an unprecedented speed.” He said jabs are
“our way out to freedom” as he revealed his goal of having all adults vaccinated by September.
And he predicted that vaccines, with new medicines to treat Covid, could have the disease reined in by the end of 2021. He added: “If Covid-19 ends up like flu through vaccines and treatments, we can get on with everything again.”
And Mr Johnson echoed that, saying: “In due time it will become something that we simply live with. A new disease like this will take time for humanity to adapt to, but we are.”
By yesterday lunchtime
Going from labs to jabs so quickly is a tribute to scientists and NHS JONATHAN AINSWORTH SHADOW HEALTH SEC
more than 14.5 million jabs had been given and new Covid cases were down to 13,308 from 18,200 last week. Nearly 535,000 have had their second dose.
Another 621 deaths were recorded – still tragically high but down 137 on Friday and a far cry from the record 1,820 on January 20. New hospital admissions fell to 2,592 yesterday, from a high of up to 3,700 a day last month.
The vaccine rollout has been a tribute to a huge team led by heroes in the NHS. Veteran staffers came out of retirement to help at 1,500 sites.
They joined soldiers, dental workers, volunteers and 200 pharmacies to deliver the target. The rollout captured the NHS spirit shown during the first
Covid wave by Ashleigh Lindsell, 30, a clinical specialist nurse at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincs.
She said yesterday: “Hitting 15 million is amazing. It’s incredible what every frontline worker has achieved. It’s been brutal and so tiring but it’s what we’re made to do.”
Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi added to the chorus of optimism, saying: “Every jab in the arm is another step closer to returning to normality.” Famous faces were among those being vaccinated yesterday – including TV host Ruth
Langsford, 60, and Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonnevillle, 57.
Mr Johnson, meanwhile, gave a hint of the roadmap out of lockdown he intends to unveil tomorrow week.
He spoke on a visit to Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies plant in Billingham, Teesside, where 60 million doses of the new Novavax vaccine will be made. The PM said: “I’m optimistic. But we have to be cautious. Our children’s education is number one priority. But we don’t want to be forced into any kind of retreat or reverse ferret.” Pupils could begin to return on March 8. But unions urged caution over when to fully reopen.
Dr Patrick Roach, of the NASUWT, said: “Wider reopening must be carefully managed to ensure the safety of those in schools while not compromising wider public health.”
Whitehall insiders said everything hinges on what the data shows this week. But if infections and hospitalisations continue to go down, people will be allowed to meet up outside at the same time as children go back to class. Shops and pubs would reopen later. In another positive step the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine licensed for over18s will now be trialled in children.
Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said: “It’s perfectly possible we’ll have some licensed children’s vaccines by the end of the year.”
And in Israel, healthcare provider Maccabi said of 520,000 people given two doses of the Pfizer jab, not one had died of Covid.