The Health Secretary said he was looking into who should be next in line to receive a jab after those most at risk and teachers had a “strong case”. The Government wants the critically vulnerable to all have received a first dose of the vaccination by February 15.
Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon, Mr Hancock said: “Once we have vaccinated those who are clinically vulnerable, of course, we are considering who then should be the next priority to vaccinate.
“Teachers have a very strong case, as have those who work in nurseries.
“Many colleagues across the House have made that point and we will consider that.”
In order for the NHS to reach the target of vaccinating all of the most vulnerable by the middle of next month, more than 13million jabs will need to be administered.
The health service will need to inoculate two million people a week in order to meet the deadline.
This morning vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi described the mid-February target date as “ambitious” and said there will be a “massive acceleration” in numbers vaccinated with a “Herculean” effort to boost numbers.
So far more than 1.3million people in the UK have received a vaccine.
Calls for teachers to be next in line for a jab have increased this week after schools were forced to shut in England as part of a new lockdown.
It is hoped vaccinating teachers will speed up how quickly children can return to classrooms.
Mr Hancock has said closing schools as part of the lockdown was necessary because of the drastic rise in coronavirus cases over the past fortnight.
Yesterday the number of positive tests surpassed 60,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, new figures from the Office of National Statistics indicate one in every 50 people in England now have Covid, with the number rising to one in every 30 in London.
This morning Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the rapid spread as “frightening”.
He said: “When the ONS reports that more than two percent of the population is now infected and when the number of patients in hospitals in England is now 40 percent higher than the first peak in April it is inescapable that the facts are changing and we must change our response.”
More to follow…
