FREEDOM DAY BECKONS

BRITAIN’S vaccine rollout has been a huge success – with a record number of first doses (478,248) administered in a day, on Friday. This means the cumulative total across the UK is 5,861,351 (8.8 per cent of the total population). The achievement, the best in Europe, is due to a combination of the NHS’s well-established system for giving jabs such as against flu or MMR, and the Government’s foresight in placing advance orders for 357 million doses from seven different manufacturers. Phase one of the strategy – inoculating the 15 million most vulnerable – has a target completion for February 15. Experts believe this is when it may be safe to start to ease lockdown restrictions.