Prime Minister's Announcement
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has very cautiously made a new announcement this evening about vaccines and the mass testing process. Main points below.
Vaccine:
- Progress is being made
- 40,000 people have volunteered to text the vaccine.
- Interim results show vaccine to be 90% effective at protecting people from COVID-19.
- However, we have not yet seen full safety data and it still needs to be peer reviewed.
- We have cleared one hurdle but have several more to go.
- If approved, we will be ready to start using it straightaway.
- If the vaccine proves to be effective and passes all rigorous safety checks, we will begin a UK-wide NHS-led programme of vaccine distribution.
- Order of distribution will consider recommendations from scientific experts from the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation.
BUT these are very early days.
- We cannot rely on this news as a solution.
- At the end of last week, the R rate was above 1 but this doesn’t take into account the current lockdown measures.
Mass testing:
- First pilot in Liverpool started last week.
- Results can be provided within an hour.
- Working with universities to begin similar mass testing in universities across the UK.
Plan is to move forward with a tiered approach from December.
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