JAB DELAY
Under-50s will have to wait another MONTH for Covid jabs after shipment delay
BRITS in their 40s will have to wait another month before being offered their Covid vaccine – with shortages slowing the rollout.
Ministers promised bumper supply from mid-March would see record daily jabs in arms.
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But a delay to a key shipment means millions of younger Brits will have to wait longer for their first immunisation.
NHS bosses have told GPs to focus on delivering second shots to older patients and first doses to over-50s over the coming weeks.
It means the second phase of the immunisation blitz is unlikely to start before mid-April.
In a letter sent today, NHS chiefs warn of a “significant reduction” in weekly supply from March 29.
It said “volumes for first doses will be significantly constrained” for the following four weeks.
This evening Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared to confirm the delay for younger Brits - saying the focus would remain instead on over 50s who have not claimed a jab.
It comes as:
- Over 25million Brits have now been jabbed in the fight against Covid
- New UK Covid deaths today plunged by 80 per cent in a month
- Brussels threatened to SEIZE factories on the continent producing the Oxford AstraZeneca jab
- Covid cases still rising in 38% of local authorities – is YOURS on hotspot list?
- Shielding for vulnerable Brits WILL end on March 31
He told a Downing Street press conference: "At the same time as opening up offers of vaccinations to all those who are 50 or above, we're going to do whatever it takes to reach all those in the most vulnerable groups who haven't come forward yet.
"Before we move on to the next cohort. And we will do that before we move on to people in their 40s.
"Before we forge ahead, I want us to be confident that we've done everything we can to protect those most in need of protection, and we will do all we can and do everything necessary to secure the supplies that are contractually committed to protecting people in this country."
In response to further grilling on the NHS letter, he said: "As I said, the supply is always lumpy and we are on course to deliver the offer that everybody whose aged 50 and above will be able to get vaccinated by the end of April.
"Of course these supply schedules have moved up and down throughout the rollout, its absolutely par for the course, it's a normal operational letter."
Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam added "we want to finish the job properly".
He compared the vaccine rollout to football in a classic analogy, saying: "A bit like a football game where the strikers who score the wonder goals are the ones who make the headlines, actually, the hard yards are done by the defenders and by the defensive midfielders tracking back, tracking back for 90 minutes of the whole game, watching everybody's back.
"And this is what it's going to be about now, tracking back and making sure that we finish the job properly in the phase one cohorts before we move on. That high uptake is really, really important."
Nearly one in two Brit adults have now had their first Covid jab, with 25.3 million now vaccinated against the pandemic.
It includes 95 per cent of those over the age of 65 – who are among the highest risk from the virus.
But the pace of the vaccination programme is now set to slow until the delayed shipment arrives in late April.
Officials hope the bump in the road will not change Boris Johnson’s pledge of offering a first dose to all adults by the end of July.
It comes as more than 25million Brits have now been jabbed in the fight against Covid - as the extraordinary vaccine rollout speeds on.
Britain has led the way in an astonishingly fast vaccination programme, with over-50s now being invited to book in for a jab.
Almost half the adult population has now been vaccinated against Covid.
New figures out today show the UK jabbed a total of 25,273,226 people between December 8 and March 16 with first doses, while 1,759,445 people have had their second dose.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “This latest milestone is an incredible achievement - representing 25million reasons to be confident for the future as we cautiously reopen society.
“Thank you once again to the brilliant NHS, scientists, armed forces, volunteers, and all those who’ve helped our rollout.”
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Mr Hancock said: “This is an extraordinary feat, coming exactly 100 days after Margaret Keenan received the first authorised jab in the whole world.
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“It has been a national mission, one of the one of the biggest logistical exercises since the war and I'd like to thank everyone who played their part, including every NHS vaccinator, GPs, pharmacists, volunteers and the armed forces for their crucial role in every corner of the UK.
“We’re ahead of schedule to offer a first dose to all in these groups by the 15 April and I urge everybody eligible to come forward.”
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