UK Covid: over-70s in England urged to contact NHS if they have not received vaccine offer yet – as it happened
Health secretary tells over-70s in England to contact NHS through the online national booking service if they have not had vaccine offer. This live blog has now closed - please follow the global coronavirus live blog for updates
- NHS asks over-70s in England to book Covid vaccine appointment
- Oxford vaccine 10% effective against South African variant'
- How can Covid vaccines be tweaked to tackle new variants?
- PM says border controls most effective when Covid rates lower than now
- Ireland to crack down on Dublin dodge' used to evade UK travel ban
- Starmer plays down concerns about Labour's standing in polls
6.26pm GMT
We have small numbers of the South African variant in the UK at the present time. And as I've said, I'm not seeing, and the early modelling data do not suggest, a transmissibility advantage for this virus.
So, that being the case, it's not going to kind of overrun or overtake the current B117 virus [the Kent variant - now the dominant one in the UK] in the next few months, or that is the most likely scenario, that it won't happen.
How quickly [restrictions] can be released will depend upon three things - the virus, the vaccine and the extent to which the public obey the rules that are in place, which thankfully the vast majority do ...
The more elaborate your plans are for summer holidays, in terms of crossing borders, in terms of household mixing, given where we are now, I think we just have to say the more you are stepping into making guesses about the unknown at this point.
We have now, as of today, vaccinated more than 12.2 million people - that's almost one in four of all adults across the United Kingdom.
Take-up of the vaccine so far has been significantly better than we hoped for.
NEW - 86% say govt done good job on getting vaccines for UK - (rare for any govt to get nearly nine out of ten to be positive about anything it does) pic.twitter.com/27YLjHsqV4
The whole hostile environment policy has created a situation where people are sceptical about authority, even when they have an absolute legal right to be here.
5.51pm GMT
Q: Will employers have to pay for the new workplace testing?
Hancock says it will be free for now.
Continue reading...