Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine begins rollout in the UK

Coronavirus cases have surpassed 50,000 for six days in a row prompting Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to call for a nationwide lockdown. Health Secretary Matt Hancock today refused to rule out a third national lockdown, claiming it is “down to people’s behaviour frankly”. More than 44 million people are currently under Tier 4 restrictions, but thus far experts claim these measures are failing to curb the rise in infection rates.

KEY POINTS

• Brian Pinker, 82, became the first person to receive the new Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, NHS England said.
• Schools in England reopened today – with some schools across the country remaining closed.
• Sir Keir Starmer has called Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus crisis “chaotic” calling on his Government to implement a nationwide lockdown.
• The Prime Minister put the country on notice for a third national lockdown, as it emerged the Government is drawing up plans for the return of shielding.

Britons across the country are braced for Tier 5 restrictions or another lockdown similar to the first one implemented in March as scientists admit tougher measures are needed to stop the rising rates of coronavirus.

New Covid cases have surpassed 50,000 for the past six days, with 54,990 positive tests confirmed on January 3.

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10.34am update: Sir Keir Starmer has called for a national lockdown within the next 24 hours

He said the outbreak is “clearly out of control” and a nationwide lockdown is “the first step” in getting control of the pandemic.

He said: “It’s no good the prime minister hinting that further restrictions are coming into place in a week or two or three. That delay has been the source of so many problems.

“So I say bring in those restrictions now, national restrictions within the next 24 hours. That has to be the first step to controlling the virus.”

He added: “We can’t allow the prime minister to use up the next two or three weeks and then bring in a national lockdown which is inevitable. Do it now.”

10.15am update: Health Secretary Matt Hancock refuses to rule out a national lockdown

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has refused to rule out another national lockdown as the new variant causes cases of Covid to rise rapidly.

He told Sky News: “We don’t rule anything out, and we’ve shown repeatedly that we will look at the public health advice and we will take the public health advice in terms of what is needed to control the spread of the disease.

”This new variant is much easier to catch, it is much more transmissible, and we’re now seeing the effect of that in lots of different parts of the country, unfortunately.

“And it means that, whereas the old Tier 3 was able to contain the old variant, that is proving increasingly difficult in all parts of the country.”

8.34am update: Mr Hancock discusses plans to reduce “bureaucracy” involved with vaccinator volunteers

The Health Sectretary today said the “bureaucracy” involved in signing up to be a volunteer vaccinator is being reduced.

Mr Hancock said he is working to reduce the level of bureaucracy involved to make it easier to sign up to volunteer.

He told BBC Breakfast: “We’re going to reduce the amount of bureaucracy that is needed there, and I’ve been working with the NHS on that.

“For instance, there’s one of the training programmes about needing to tackle terrorism. I don’t think that’s necessary, we’re going to stop that.

“And we’re going through the different parts of that process to streamline it as much as possible but again that isn’t the rate-limiting step.

“Because at the moment the NHS, with the people that it has got already, is able to deliver the vaccine as it can be produced, but obviously I want to make that easier.”

8.11am update: Health Secretary says teachers “no more at risk” than public

Mr Hancock has urged the public to follow official health advice about schools reopening.

He added teachers are at no more risk than the rest of the population.

He told Sky News: “It is also clear that the proportion of teachers who catch coronavirus is no higher than the rest of the population.

“So there is clear public health advice behind the position that we have taken and that is what people should follow because, of course, education is very important as well, especially for people’s long-term health.”

8.03am update: An 82-year-old retiree becomes the first person to receive the new Oxford vaccine

Brian Pinker, 82, made history on January 4 when he became the first person to receive the new Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Mr Pinker, a patient at Churchill hospital on dialysis for kidney disease, was given the vaccine at Oxford University Hospital on Monday morning.

In a statement issued by NHS England, Mr Pinker said: “I am so pleased to be getting the Covid vaccine today and really proud that it is one that was invented in Oxford.

“The nurses, doctors and staff today have all been brilliant and I can now really look forward to celebrating my 48th wedding anniversary with my wife Shirley later this year.”

Sam Foster, chief nursing officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who administered the vaccine to Mr Pinker, said: “It was a real privilege to be able to deliver the first Oxford vaccine at the Churchill Hospital here in Oxford, just a few hundred metres from where it was developed.

“We look forward to vaccinating many more patients and health and care staff with the Oxford vaccine in the coming weeks which will make a huge difference to people living in the communities we serve and the staff who care for them in our hospitals.” 

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7.44am update: Matt Hancock addresses the new Oxford vaccine rollout

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will be rolled out across England from today.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “This is a pivotal moment in our fight against this awful virus and I hope it provides renewed hope to everybody that the end of this pandemic is in sight.”

He urged everyone to continue to follow the coronavirus restrictions while the vaccination programme is under way to “keep cases down and protect our loved ones”.

The UK has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, which means the UK now has enough doses to vaccinate most of its population.

7.29am update: Covid has prompted a boost in healthy habits for 2021 according to survey

An England-wide survey of more than 5,000 adults found 43 percent of people feel more motivated to make healthy changes in 2021 than last year.

Since the pandemic began, 35 percent of people said they tucked into an unhealthy snack or drink at least once a day which increased from 26 pecent this time last year,

In total 29 percent agreed they smoked more since the second national lockdown and around 23 percent of adults noticed they were drinking more alcohol, the Public Health England (PHE) survey reveals.

Covid-19 is behind the reason that 68 percent of adults are trying to step towards a healthier lifestyle this year, while overall 80 percent said that changes need to be made in 2021.

7.13am update: Scottish pupils are struggling amid the pandemic a teaching union claims

Young people from poorer backgrounds continue to face worse consequences due to the pandemic, according to teaching union the Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS).

The EIS has called for intervention as it claimed the consequences of coronavirus could further deepen the disadvantage experienced by youngsters currently living in poverty.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a damaging impact on the education of young people right across Scotland, and it is young people already facing disadvantage who have felt this most acutely.

“Young people from less affluent backgrounds are far less likely to have access to the types of resources that are available to young people in other areas, which has clearly had an impact during the pandemic.

“Young people living in poverty were far more likely to disengage from education during the lockdown period for a wide range of reasons – including lack of access to IT equipment or suitable access to the internet.

“This has the potential to further entrench, or even widen, the poverty-related attainment gap that persists in many parts of Scotland.”

6.58am update: Wales confirms rollout of new vaccine to begin today

The second coronavirus vaccine available in the UK will be rolled out across Wales from Monday, the Welsh Government announced.

At least 40,000 doses of the newly approved AstraZeneca jab will be made available within the next two weeks.

Wales’ health minister Vaughan Gething said: “Today marks a key milestone in our fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been called a ‘game changer’ and this is true – its potential should not be underestimated.

“In less than a month Wales’ NHS has mobilised the largest vaccination programme our country has ever seen and so far more than 35,000 people have received their first dose.

“Now, only five days since regulatory approval of the new vaccine for use in the UK, a second vaccine is here and ready for use, significantly adding to Wales’ defences in the face of coronavirus and protecting our most vulnerable.”

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