Feb
16
Vaccination programme update
Author: Chloe Smith, Updated: 16 February 2021 15:57
Yesterday, the Prime Minister set out that the vaccination programme continues to power past the target we set six weeks ago, with more than 15 million people vaccinated – but reiterated that we must be both optimistic and patient by staying at home, to protect the NHS and save lives.
As the Prime Minister said yesterday, we have grounds for confidence. Our vaccine rollout is an unprecedented national achievement, and having now offered a vaccine to everyone in the top four priority groups, we can begin vaccinating the next vulnerable cohorts.
However, we must keep our foot to the floor. The level of infection remains very high, with more people still in hospital today than at the peak last April and admissions running at 1,600 a day. And although we have vaccinated more than 90 per cent of those aged over 70, 60 percent of hospital patients with Covid are under 70 and we still don’t have enough data about the exact effectiveness of the vaccines in reducing the spread of infection.
Next week, the Prime Minister will be setting out a roadmap saying as much as he possibly can about the route back to normality. We want this lockdown to be the last – and we want progress to be cautious but also irreversible which is why it is so important that everyone continues to follow the rules
To keep up to date with all government announcements, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Chloe Smith