Refusal to deny vaccine diversion from the NE

The Government has declined to deny suggestions that vaccines will be moved away from the North East to other parts of England in order to boost those that have made less progress in the rollout.

Downing Street has declined to deny suggestions that the NorthEast will see a reduction in their Covid vaccine supplies in order to boost other areas of the country which haven’ t made as much progress during the roll-out.

Reports began to circulate on Thursday, that the region’s vaccine supply is set to be halved from next week.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has previously denied that vaccines would be moved from the North East and Yorkshire to help other regions but yesterday, the Prime Minister’ s official spokesman refused to repeat the denial.

He said: “I’m simply pointing out the fact that we’ll continue to prioritise t he over-80s and will ensure the areas that need more in order to increase those percentages can receive it, while ensuring that we provide vaccine doses to all areas of the country.”

The spokesperson also highlighted Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s comments made on Thursday, about the roll-out needing to be “fair”.

He added: “We will continue to ensure that all areas and regions of the UK receive the vaccine to ensure we can protect the most vulnerable in society.

“I would point to what Matt Hancock said yesterday where he said we have got to make sure vaccination is fair across the UK and some parts of the country, including parts of the NorthEast and Yorkshire, have gone fast early on.

“But it remains the case that areas of the UK will continue to receive doses of the vaccine.”