Matt Hancock has refused to reject an extension to the current corona virus lock amid fears it could last until Christmas.
The health secretary said on December 2 that “we will know very soon whether corona virus cases will be reduced enough to facilitate a second strike”.
Boris Johnson hopes the country will return to local controls, but at a Downing Street press conference on Monday, Dr Susan Hopkins of the UK, who co-chaired Mr Hankok – said the lowest tier of previous measures had “little effect”.
Advising the government’s Covid 19 response, Dr Hopkins said, “They should consider strengthening the measures to get us vaccinated in the winter months until everyone is vaccinated.”
That goal of protecting a vaccine went one step further after it was shown to be nearly 95% effective in protecting against a new jab virus.
Scientists have welcomed the “extremely exciting” news that the American company Moderna’s Jab can be very effective in preventing people from getting sick and can work for all ages, including the elderly.
Mr Hancock said “great advances in medical science are being made” but acknowledged that the UK had only received the Jab of the Five Million Dose.
“When there is so much uncertainty, we can see the candle of hope and do everything we can to nurture its flame,” he said.
“But we’re not there yet. We must remain vigilant until science protects us, and follow the rules we know can keep this virus under control.”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The UK has already received 40 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer / Bioendech, which uses the same technology as Moderna and should be in the UK before Christmas.
But the government did not issue orders with Moderna at the same time, a government spokesman said, adding that it would not be available “early in the spring of 2021 in the UK”.
Advantages of Modern Jabin are easy to store because it can be stored in a regular freezer for up to six months, while the Pfizer / Bioentech vaccine should be kept at minus 70C.
While Conservative backers have been pressing the prime minister not to extend the lock-up next month, Mr Hancock said there was no data yet to understand its impact.
“It will be very soon to know what the number of cases will be when the current lockout comes to an end,” the health secretary said.
“But we hope that the national lock can be replaced with a deployed system as it was before.”
Dr. Hopkins said Tier 2 of Local Controls seemed to work in some areas, but “not so well in others.”
“We see very little effect from layer 1, and when we look at what layers may be in the future, we will have to think about strengthening them to get us in the winter months until everyone is vaccinated,” he added.
Among other developments:
- The government announced on Monday that 213 more people had died within 28 days of a positive test for Covid 19, bringing the total to 52,147 in the UK.
- In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will issue a statement on locking restrictions on Tuesday. He said parts of the virus that were “stubbornly high” could be temporarily placed under more stringent controls to provide more flexibility to “define and carefully relax” the rules of Christmas.
- According to programs leaked to the Daily Mail, thousands of volunteers without a medical background could be trained to deliver the government’s mass immunization programs to provide corona virus vaccines. St. John Ambulance is one of the organizations that train registrants, a representative of the charity confirmed Monday evening.
Meanwhile, the MP, who tested positive for Covid 19, said he was not sure. The Prime Minister continues to be isolated after his meeting with Lee Anderson.
Tim Betto, a medical professor at Oxford University, said rapid tests should be used to quickly get people out of isolation.
“There is a simple way to take a belt and brace approach – we need to run a system that will allow him (Mr Johnson) to undergo a quick test and come to parliament the next day,” he told the Telegraph.
“The current system is simply not in line with the knowledge we have. We need to use these tests to get people out of isolation very quickly.”
