Britain Has Delivered A Record 480 000 Covid Jabs In A Day Meaning It Is On Track To His The Government s Target Of 15 Million First Doses By February 15 If Supplies Hold Up And The Current Rate Is Maintained
Britain has delivered a record 480,000 Covid jabs in a day, meaning it is on track to his the Government's target of 15 million first doses by February 15 if supplies hold up and the current rate is maintained.
Data up to Friday reveals a total of 6,329,968 vaccines have now been given in the UK so far since the roll-out began in earnest.
The vast majority of these - some 5,861,351 - have been first doses, with 478,248 given out on Friday alone, as well as 1,821 second doses.
It means the seven-day rolling average of first doses given in the UK is now 328,882 - but an average of 397,333 is needed each day to meet the Government target next month.
With record numbers now being administered day-on-day, that seven-day average will soon soar and providing there are no problems with supply to impact the current rate, that aim should be met comfortably.
It comes as doctors' calls to cut the gap between the first and second doses of the vaccine are being resisted by officials at Public Health England.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that delaying the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab to 12 weeks after the first is not justified by the science.
However, PHE medical director Dr Yvonne Doyle said it is essential to protect as many people as possible to prevent the virus getting 'the upper hand'.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick also hit back at the claims, saying that the current policy means millions more can get their first Covid jab and the 'high level of protection' it provides as 'quickly as possible'.
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Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured right, speaking to Barbara Baker, 92, during a visit to a Covid vaccination centre in Birmingham) has defended the Government's strategy to leave a 12-week gap between the first and second doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine amid fears a long wait between doses is less effective
In a letter to the chief medical officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, the BMA said the gap between the first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine should be no more than six weeks, in line with the advice of the manufacturers and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
However, Dr Doyle insisted the decision to extend the gap had been taken on 'public health and scientific advice' based on the need to get at least some protection to as many people as possible.
'The more people that are protected against this virus, the less opportunity it has to get the upper hand.
Protecting more people is the right thing to do,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
BMA council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said that while he understands the 'rationale' behind the decision, no other country is taking the UK's approach.
He said the WHO recommends that the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine - which the manufacturers advise should be given three to four weeks after the first - should only be delayed 'in exceptional circumstances', to a maximum of six weeks.
'What we're saying is that the UK should adopt this best practice based on international professional opinion,' he told BBC Breakfast.
'Most nations in the world are facing challenges similar to the UK in having limited vaccine supply and also wanting to protect their population maximally.
'No other nation has adopted the UK's approach.
We think the flexibility that the WHO offers of extending to 42 days is being stretched far too much to go from six weeks right through to 12 weeks.
'Obviously the protection will not vanish after six weeks but what we do not know is what level of protection will be offered.
We should not be extrapolating data where we don't have it.'
The latest Government figures show a further 1,348 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday, Bulk Mail Server Hosting bringing the UK total to 97,329.
The vaccination programme continues to ramp up with 6,329,968 jabs delivered across the UK as of Friday, of which 5,861,351 were first doses - a rise of 478,248 on the previous day's figures.
Dr Doyle meanwhile said that more work is needed to determine whether the new variant of the virus which emerged in south-east England late last year is more deadly than the original strain.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Friday that scientists on the Government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) had found that the variant may be associated with 'a higher degree of mortality'.
However, Dr Doyle said: 'There are several investigations going on at the moment.
It is not absolutely clear that that will be the case. It is too early to say.
'There is some evidence, but it is very early evidence. It is small numbers of cases and it is far too early to say this will actually happen.'
The co-author of the Nervtag report, Professor Graham Medley, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said it is clear the new variant is more transmissible than the original.
However he acknowledged that it remains an 'open question' whether it is more likely to lead to death.
'The question about whether it is more dangerous in terms of mortality, I think, is still open. There is evidence it is more dangerous but this is a very dangerous virus,' he told the Today programme.
'In terms of making the situation worse, it is not a game-changer.
It is a very bad thing that is slightly worse.'
Senior doctors have called for the gap between the first and second doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine to be halved to six weeks (pictured: Stephen Hartley is given his Pfizer/BioNTech jab by Primary Care Practitioner Nikki Brown at Haxby and Wiggington Surgery in York)
Nervtag chairman Professor Peter Horby defended the decision to warn of the possible increase in mortality rates while the data was still incomplete.
'I think a very important principle is transparency,' he told BBC Breakfast.
'If we were not telling people about this we would be accused of covering it up.'
Meanwhile, the Government is considering whether travel restrictions may need to be further tightened amid warnings that new variants of the virus discovered in Brazil and South Africa might be resistant to the vaccines.
Ministers are expected to meet on Monday to discuss a proposal to require people arriving in the UK to quarantine in a designated hotel to ensure they are following the rules on self-isolating.
Prof Horby said such measures would have an impact although he warned there is a limit to what they could achieve.
'I think complete control of variants moving around the world is going to be almost impossible but we know that certain measures can slow the movement of these viruses around the world,' he said.
Dr Richard Vautrey, Chair of the BMA's GP Committee, told Sky News this morning that they are 'in dialogue' with Prof Whitty over the 12-week gap, saying 'we need to understand the data'.
Both the vaccines approved so far - one made by Pfizer and the other by Oxford University - rely on two doses to be most effective, with them ideally spaced three weeks apart.
But in a scramble to stop the devastating second wave of Covid-19, Britain has abandoned this rule and decided it will extend the gap to 12 weeks so it can give more people a single dose as soon as possible.
It comes as the health watchdog in France called for a delay in administering a second dose, though only to six weeks.
It emerged on Thursday that [/news/nhs/index.html NHS] hospitals could even be banned from giving out the jabs if they don't stick to the strategy of delaying second doses by 12 weeks or longer.
The benefit will be that millions more people end up being vaccinated in the coming weeks.
But it's possible the vaccines won't work as well in the long run.
The [/news/world-health-organization/index.html World Health Organization] (WHO) has previously said governments should be giving people their second dose within 21 to 28 days of having the first, to make sure the vaccine works long-term.
BioNTech and partner Pfizer have also warned that they have no evidence their jointly developed vaccine will continue to protect against Covid-19 if the booster shot is given later than the 21-day gap tested in trials.
Meanwhile, in the UK's Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine trial, 59 per cent of those who received two doses had a nine to 12 week gap between the first and second jab, compared to 18.6 per cent in Brazil's study.
The combined results found that the vaccine was more effective in the group that had over six weeks between the two doses than those that had less than six weeks between doses, according to [ ].
It comes amid calls from nursing leaders for higher-grade face masks to be given to staff to protect them against highly transmissible strains of Covid-19.
Public Health England medical director Dr Yvonne Doyle has also said today it is not 'absolutely clear' if a mutation of the virus first found in Kent is more dangerous, despite fears that a UK Covid variant is more deadly than the original strain.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday that scientists on the Government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) had found the variant may be associated with 'a higher degree of mortality'.
The Government is now considering whether travel restrictions may need to be further tightened amid warnings that new variants of the virus discovered in Brazil and South Africa might be resistant to the vaccines.
In another day of coronavirus news:
Heathrow says it is 'impossible' for passengers to be socially-distanced as travellers returning to the UK blast hour-long queues on another day of chaos after negative Covid test rule was enforced; The leader of the Welsh Conservatives has resigned following the disclosure he was among a group of politicians who drank alcohol on the Senedd estate days after a pub alcohol ban came into force; Fears of a health crisis at a military barracks housing asylum seekers in Kent have escalated after 120 people are believed to have tested positive for coronavirus; Professor Susan Michie, a scientist advising the Government on coronavirus, has called for tighter lockdown restrictions, describing the current rules as 'the problem' amid rising infections and deaths;Countries around the world are considering tougher travel restrictions in a bid to keep out Britain's 'more deadly' Covid strain;Boris Johnson yesterday claimed there is evidence that the Kent Covid variant may be more deadly;But experts are playing down the concerns, saying its not 'absolutely clear' if a mutation of the virus first found in Kent is more dangerous;Nursing leaders are calling for higher-grade face masks to be given to staff to protect them against highly transmissible strains of Covid-19;The health watchdog in France has called for a delay in administering a second dose, though only to six weeks;Nearly 39 per cent of Israel's citizens have had at least a single dose of a Covid jab so far. Professor Whitty pictured speaking during a coronavirus news conference at 10 Downing Street in London yesterday, during which Boris Johnson announced that the new variant of Covid, which was first discovered in the south of England, appears to be linked with an increase in the mortality rate
NHS staff and key workers queue in the Louisa Jordan Hospital before receiving the coronavirus vaccine today in Glasgow, Scotland.
Five thousand health and key worker staff are set to be vaccinated at NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital today as part of a mass vaccination drive by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
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Mr Jenrick said: 'The Government is following the very clear advice by the MRSA, our own experts, and from the four chief medical officers of all parts of the UK. They said that ensuring someone is vaccinated for the second jab within 12 weeks is fine, and Lead Lists that's what we're following.
'As a result of that, we're ensuring that millions more people can get the first jab and the high level of protection that provides as quickly as possible.
5.3million people in this country have been vaccinated already, that's providing support and protection to them.
'We want to ensure more people can get vaccinated in the weeks ahead. But we'll continue to follow the expert advice that we receive.'
In a private letter to Professor Chris Whitty, the BMA indicated that second doses may not be guaranteed following a 12-week gap due to the 'unp[# RELATED ARTICLES Previous][# Previous] [# 1] [# Next] [/news/article-9178851/PHE-chief-admits-not-absolutely-clear-Kent-strain-deadly.html Row breaks out over claim new Kent strain is 30% more...] [/news/article-9178525/Dr-Fauci-says-one-shot-Johnson-Johnson-vaccine-approved-two-weeks.html Light at the end of the tunnel? Dr. Fauci says one-shot...] [/news/article-9177419/UK-Prime-Minster-claims-Britains-super-covid-variant-30-deadly.html UK Prime Minister claims Britain's 'super-covid' variant is...]
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Although agreeing that the jab should be 'rolled as quickly as possible', the association called for an urgent review of the policy that is 'proving evermore difficult to justify'.
A BMA spokesperson told MailOnline: 'The BMA remains fully committed to supporting the Chief Medical Officer and the government in rolling out the vaccine as quickly as possible to protect the public and health care workers most at risk.
'This letter to the Chief Medical Officer represents part of an ongoing dialogue about the best approach to the rollout of the vaccine and shares with him the growing concern from the medical profession regarding the delay of the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as the UK's strategy has become increasingly isolated from many other countries.
'BMA members are also concerned that, given the unpredictability of supplies, there may not be any guarantees that second doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be available in 12 weeks' time.
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Practice nurse Laura Holmes administers the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine to a member of the public who was unable to leave their car outside a temporary vaccination centre at St Columba's Church in Sheffield, south Yorkshire today
Doctor Jane Charles prepares to administer the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine at a temporary vaccination centre in Sheffield today
Practice nurse Ms Holmes prepares to administer the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine in Sheffield today.
Mr Johnson has revealed that 5.4million people have now received their first dose of two vaccines currently being administered
An NHS member of staff speaks to a patient as she prepares to deliver the coronavirus vaccine at the Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland Lead Lists this morning
Immunisation Nurse Debbie Briody administers the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to Staff Nurse Amanda Thompson at the NHS Louise Jordan temporary hospital at the SEC Campus in Glasgow, Scotland
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-0304dcb0-5d71-11eb-80ae-d374b9432103" website delivers another 480,000 Covid-19 vaccines in a day
