VAX TO NORMAL
A major acceleration of the rollout was announced by Boris Johnson, who vowed every adult – 52.8million – will have been invited to have the jab two months ahead of schedule.
It raises hopes that the worst of lockdown could soon be over and the country can, finally, get back to some kind of normality.
Mr Johnson said: “I want to see the rollout go further and faster in the coming weeks.
“We will now aim to offer a jab to every adult by the end of July, helping us protect the most vulnerable sooner, and take further steps to ease some of the restrictions in place.”
He also promises all over-50s – and those at risk with underlying health conditions – will have been invited to have the jab by April 15.
That’s two weeks early for the middle-aged. The rest of the adult population, some 21 million, will follow, with the last jabbed by July 31. In an exclusive article for the Sunday Mirror, Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “The vaccine has given us all hope that the end of the pandemic is in sight.”
WELCOME
The news – as the PM prepares a “cautious” route out of lockdown tomorrow – was also greeted across travel, hospitality and retail.
Patricia Yates, of Visit Britain, said: “This is very welcome. Really good news to start getting life returning, including holidays.”
The British Retail Consortium said: “This is very encouraging and suggests Government might give a firmer sense of possible timescales for the reopening of non-essential stores.
“Shops will be ready. Many face financial challenges – so it is essential that business rates relief is extended further.”
Emma Coulthurst, of price comparison site TravelSupermarket, said: “We’ve seen the tide turning in the last few days. It’s given people hope some form of safely controlled overseas travel – through a mixture of vaccine certificates and testing – will be able to take place.”
And Paul Charles, who is behind the Save Our Summer campaign, added: “The vaccination programme has been a success, without a doubt. The PM has an opportunity on Monday to save half a million jobs and give positive outlook for travel from May onwards. There needs to be certainty.”
Under the PM’s roadmap out of lockdown, social mixing could return in limited numbers by Easter, with the prospect of holidays later in the year. The phenomenal success of the vaccination programme – 17.2million
Brits have now had the first dose – has triggered the new optimism.
PHASED
The rollout is going hand-in-hand with a ramped-up test-and-trace operation with at least 400,000 rapid lateral flow testing kits despatched through the post every day.
A 50-page “cautious and phased” roadmap will be discussed by ministers at the Downing Street Covid Committee today. It will be chaired by the PM and include Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove.
The Cabinet is set to rubber stamp the plan tomorrow before the PM’s long-awaited Commons statement. He is expected to confirm:
Schools start to return on March 8, with exemptions in localised high infection areas.
Friends and families can meet outdoors by Easter, but initially just two households. Indoor meetings, under the rule of six, by early June.
Limited visits to care home residents also allowed from March 8.
Non-contact sports like tennis and golf back around March 22.
Non-essential shops to open just after Easter. But hairdressers and beauty salons will stay closed for now.
Pubs could open, al fresco service only, in April. Open more widely in May, with restaurants and other hospitality venues, probably with the rule of six outdoors.
The window is to be left open on the possibility of social mixing returning “broadly back to normal” by July. There will be no relaxation yet on travel – so holidays remain banned.
Downing Street has ruled out “vaccination passports” for travel and entry to entertainment venues. But Home Office staff are working on a format for a private sector-led “recognised certificate” which would be accepted as proof that a person has been vaccinated or tested. The
vaccination speed-up was welcomed by Labour but Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said new priorities had to be worked out for key workers. He said: “All adults getting a first dose by July is welcome. We now urgently need the Government to set out how they will prioritise those outside the first nine groups. It’s perfectly reasonable for teachers, police officers and other key workers who haven’t been able to stay home in the lockdown to ask when their turn will be.”
More famous faces, meanwhile, have thrown their weight behind the vaccine rollout. Stars pictured having the jab include Slade singer Noddy Holder, 74, soccer legend Sir Bobby Charlton, 83, and Royle Family actress Sue Johnston, 77.
A further 445 Covid deaths were recorded yesterday, taking the UK total to 120,365.
KEIR Starmer has answered the questions that matter most to YOU, our readers.
Voters from across the country were given the chance find out how the Labour leader would deal with the issues affecting their lives.
Here’s how he responded…
Hannah Peters, 30, nurse: Would Labour consider an immediately effective pay rise of 15% for NHS staff?
Hi Hannah, Britain’s key workers have got us through this crisis. I want to thank you for all you have done. It’s not good enough for politicians to simply pay lip service. Clapping outside our houses on a Thursday didn’t pay the bills.
I would give a pay rise to our key workers – not just because it’s the right thing to so, but because it makes economic sense as well. If you freeze pay, that’s less money families and households will have to spend during Britain’s recovery.
Hannah Cox, 36, small business owner:
You have proposed giving start-up loans to 100,000 new UK businesses and creating a new “British recovery bond” – but what support will you offer to existing businesses and business owners to keep their staff on and operating?
Hannah, small businesses will be the engine of Britain’s recovery. We’ve got to support them and I’ve got a plan to do just that.
First of all, that means extending business rate relief and the VAT cut and making the furlough scheme smarter, so it helps people back into work.
Businesses tell me all the time they are hugely worried about the amount of debt they’ve taken on during the crisis – that’s got to be reformed.
And then in the long term we must ensure we are doing everything we can to allow our fantastic British businesses to flourish all across the country. It’s only through gearing towards growth that we will bounce back.
Sophie Coleman, 27, trainee clinical psychologist:
How will Labour improve our overstretched and under-funded mental health services, especially with the fallout of the pandemic?
Sophie, this is such an important question. Covid has taken a mental toll on us all. Over the last decade, people have become more comfortable talking about mental health – that’s fantastic.
But I’m afraid the provision from government simply hasn’t kept up with the times. It’s no good telling people to speak out about their problems if we don’t match it with the support they need.
Labour would give mental health parity with physical health – that’s why I put Dr Rosena Allin-Khan in charge of this area for Labour. As an NHS doctor, she will be a fantastic first-ever Secretary of State for Mental Health.
Poppy Hasted, 60, disability rights campaigner, who has MS: How will you help people like me, who are bed-bound and feel invisible in society, to enter the job market and feel their opinions are important? much disabled people have to offer. For a decade, we have had promises that social care would be fixed – but it still hasn’t been.
It goes beyond just ensuring services are funded and legislation is up to date – it’s got to mean making sure disabled voices are in the room when decisions are made and that we begin to hardwire disabled access through society.
At the speech I gave this week, for example, we ensured there was someone doing BSL alongside it. That’s a tiny change but it can make all the difference for so many people.
Leanne Scott, 41, life coach: Are you in favour of a second referendum on Scottish independence?
Hi Leanne, every time I am in Scotland, people talk to me about improving Scotland’s schools, its health, its businesses and jobs. They talk about addressing the climate emergency and getting through Covid. The constitution rarely comes up.
I don’t believe separatism has the answers for a child living in poverty in Glasgow, a business owner facing closure in Dundee or parents who are worrying about the decline of schools across the country. That’s why I simply don’t think we should be focusing on another divisive referendum in the teeth of a pandemic and the deepest recession in 300 years.
Anjum Peerbacos, 38, teacher: Would you prioritise teachers in the vaccine roll-out so that they are protected when children return to school?
Hi Anjum, I said to the Prime Minister about a month ago that we should use the half-term to vaccinate all school staff. We could have done it throughout the week and it would have barely made a difference to the rest of the roll-out because of the numbers involved.
I’m disappointed that didn’t happen. We all want our schools open as soon as possible and this seems like one of the obvious steps we should take. If a teacher gets coronavirus – even a very minor case – it causes huge disruption because they are out of school for a
couple of weeks while they isolate at home, classes get cancelled and it is the kids and their families that suffer as a result.
Pat Mulligan, 45, wedding host:
What tailored support will you give to the hospitality sector to help businesses recover after the pandemic?
Pat, the treatment of hospitality during this crisis has been shocking. I don’t think the Government realises the planning that goes into re-opening a pub.
It takes weeks of preparation, making orders and getting staff back. To then have that taken away at the last minute is devastating, both financially and emotionally.
I want to see support last until health measures are over – but I want to go much further, with a Fightback Fund for high streets and hospitality.
The Government has been given back billions from supermarkets in recent months – surely it’s just common sense that it should go to support businesses that haven’t been able to re-open, such as hospitality?
Lucie Scott, 52, teacher: After the publication of the Stephen Lawrence report, you pledged that a race equalities act would be created under Labour. What would this look like?
Hi Lucie, this is a great question. A Race Equality Act was the first piece of legislation I announced as Labour leader because I want this to be a top priority for the next Labour government.
As I said in my speech this week, we can’t accept the fact that if you’re from black, Asian or minority ethnic communities you’ll face structural racism and discrimination at every stage of your life.
We’ve got to be ambitious with this Act – it has to tackle every aspect of structural racism – and l am currently working with Doreen Lawrence to make sure we get it right.
Theo Freedman, 25, trade union officer:
What practical, concrete steps will you take to ensure the trade union link is maintained and Labour remains the party of workers?
The Labour Party was founded by trade unions, and it is my intention to make Labour the party of working people and their communities once again.
We are strengthening the relationship with unions – for example, we have just launched a power-at-work taskforce to look at how the pandemic has affected working people, and what solutions can be put forward for the recovery.
Janet Clarke, 79, retired:
The population is getting older. How will you ensure we have enough staff to keep the NHS running? We have a shortage of about 40,000 nurses.
Thanks for this question, Janet. We’ve got to do everything possible to protect our NHS and secure it for the future, and that starts with looking after our staff. They have been real heroes during this crisis and are now at the front line of the brilliant vaccine roll-out.
The NHS didn’t have enough staff going into this crisis, with a record 100,000 vacancies, and staff were already stretched to the limit.
The removal of the nursing bursary has also
been a disaster. We have got to give all our key workers a pay rise, and we need a proper workforce strategy so that we can get the NHS up to strength and ready for the challenges of the future.
Rather than another reorganisation, we would focus now on cutting waiting lists for patients.
Lois Hoyte, 28, single mum: How will Labour make childcare work for single parents who are home-schooling and don’t always have access to “bubbles”?
Thanks, Lois. It is really tough for single parents who are trying to juggle work with home-schooling, especially if they have no access to family or friends.
That’s why I called on the Government to introduce a legal and enforceable right for working parents to request paid flexible furlough, with employers expected to grant this request.
This would have given more parents the chance to protect family finances and be able to focus on their kids. Too often during this pandemic, families have been an afterthought, when they should have come first. We want that to change.