‘Stay home for 3 weeks after jab’

PEOPLE who have received their first Covid- 19 jab must stay at home for three weeks after their injection because it can take that long for immunity to ‘kick in’, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam warned last night.

He said that while getting vaccinated was ‘something to celebrate’, recipients of the jab needed to ‘stay patient’.

The caution of England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer comes amid concern from Ministers that vaccinated people might start mixing with others or relax their social distancing too soon.

That could be deadly for elderly recipients of the vaccine, who make up the bulk of those who have had it so far, and risk spreading the virus more widely among the population at large.

Prof Van-Tam said: ‘Regardless of whether someone has had their vaccination or not, it is vital everyone follows the national restrictions and public health advice, as protection takes up to three weeks to kick in and we don’t yet know the impact of vaccines on transmission.’