Matt Hancock Says Vaccine Takeup “Better Than We Hoped For” With 91% Of Over 80s Given Their First Dose
Matt Hancock revealed that the majority of the most vulnerable groups have been vaccinated (PA)
4 min read
The vast majority of those aged over 75 and care home residents have already been vaccinated as 12.3 million get their first dose, the health secretary has revealed.
Matt Hancock also said those aged 70 or over no longer needed to wait to be contacted for the vaccine appointment as he urged them to book the first dose directly via the online platform, over the phone or through their GP.
Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, Hancock said: “Take up of the vaccine so far has been significantly better than we hoped for, based on the work we'd done before the vaccination programme started and looking at the surveys.
“We knew that the UK has one of the most positive attitudes to vaccine uptake. But even so, we thought we'd get take up of around 75%.
He revealed that, as of midnight on Sunday, 91% of the over 80s had been vaccinated; 95% of those aged 75 to 79; and “almost three quarters” of those aged between 70 and 74.
“We've also visited every eligible care home with older residents and offered vaccinations to all residents and staff. So, among eligible care home residents the take up is 93%,” he added.
The health secretary also reassured the public that the UK had the capacity to deal with new variants of coronavirus, such as those identified in Kent and South Africa.
“All viruses mutate over time, and part of controlling any virus is responding to new variants as they arise.
“We do this every year with flu, for instance, and knowing this we invested in the genomic sequencing capability right at the start of this pandemic, because genomic sequencing is how you identify new variants.
He continued: “We've given the UK one of the biggest genomic sequencing capabilities in the world. In fact, the UK has provided almost half of all of the COVID sequences that have been provided worldwide."
It comes after a new study, conducted by Wits University in Johannesburg, suggested that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine only offers "minimal protection" against mild to moderate cases of coronavirus.
The trial of 2,000 people, revealed by the FT, found that the vaccine only reduced chances of less severe illness in people with the South African variant by 22%.
A separate UK study by the vaccine’s developers, however, has found that it is effective against the coronavirus variant first identified in Kent.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, meanwhile, has been found to neutralize the South African coronavirus strain, according to a study by researchers at the University of Texas.
Earlier on Monday, the Prime Minister told reporters he was “very confident” in the Covid vaccines currently being used in the UK.
The South African government, however, has halted the rollout of the Oxford vaccine until more information on its efficacy is available, with citizens to be offered doses of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines instead.
Around 90% of new coronavirus cases identified in the country consist of the new variant, officials claim.
Variants of coronavirus identified in Kent and South Africa have raised alarm as they carry mutations which can make the virus more contagious.
There are also concerns about a small number of cases of both strains that contain a new mutation that could allow the virus to evade immunity.
Last week, the health secretary announced a programme of mass testing targeting around 80,000 people across the UK living in areas with identified cases of the strain.
Health minister Edward Argar confirmed on Monday that 147 cases of the South African variant had been identified so far.
“It’s still very much not the dominant strain here, the dominant strain here is very much the historic one, the one we’ve been dealing with since last year, and to a large degree the so-called Kent variant,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Just under 12.3 million people have received their first vaccine dose in the UK so far, according to government figures.
The Prime Minister told reporters on Monday he was “very confident” in the Covid vaccines currently being used in the UK.
"It's important for people to bear in mind that all of them, we think, are effective in delivering a high degree of protection against serious illness and death, which is the most important thing,” he said, speaking during a visit to a Derby vaccine manufacturing plant.
He added that the vaccines "remain a massive benefit to our country" and he has "no doubt that vaccines generally are going to offer a way out".
"Yes we're doing everything we can to contain new variants but we're also increasingly confident that science, medicine, is gaining the upper hand over coronavirus and all its variants," he continued.
14,104 confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported in the UK on Monday, while a further 333 deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total to 112,798.
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