13:22
Johnson claims Indian authorities not liable for delay in provide to UK
Q: If GPs have spare vaccine, can they administer them to the under-50s?
Whitty says the NHS is prioritising the over-50s. And it’s specializing in guaranteeing that it doesn’t miss individuals on this group out, because it races down the ages.
He says vaccinated 20 individuals within the highest danger group will forestall one loss of life. Within the decrease teams, it’s worthwhile to vaccinate 1,000 individuals to forestall one loss of life.
That’s the reason they need to guarantee they don’t miss anybody within the excessive danger teams?
Q: What position did the Indian authorities play in blocking the export of doses to the UK? Isn’t this the type of vaccine nationalism you name out when the EU does it?
Johnson praises the Serum Institute of India. And he says the Indian authorities just isn’t blocking the availability of vaccine.
Q: Have they delayed it?
No, says Johnson.
He says there’s a delay for sensible causes.
This contracts what the SII advised the Telegraph earlier. See 12.08pm.
13:17
Q: Doesn’t the vaccine provide check imply we are going to fail one of many checks for the roadmap for relieving lockdown – the profitable rollout of the vaccine?
No, says Johnson. He says the federal government can nonetheless meet its targets.
13:16
Whitty says vaccination is essential for the under-50s in addition to the over-50s.
The under-50s can get severely sick, he says.
And the extra persons are vaccinated, the much less the chance of the virus spreading.
13:15
Q: Is there a hazard that unfounded considerations in regards to the AstraZeneca vaccine may put individuals off?
Johnson says the most effective testimony he can provide in regards to the security of the vaccines comes from Raine and Whitty.
Whitty says there’s a clear consensus amongst the specialists is that the vaccines are very protected.
13:12
Q: How will the EU risk to dam the availability of vaccines have an effect on the general public?
Johnson says individuals shouldn’t fear. All second doses will likely be delivered, he says.
These vaccines are a multi-national effort, he says. The UK will proceed to view it in that spirit.
13:11
Whitty says all medication is about weighing up the dangers versus the advantages. Even aspirin has side-effects, he says.
He says the vaccine is giving good safety in opposition to a illness that’s nonetheless frequent, and really harmful. One particular person in 270 is contaminated, he says.
The chance/profit is strongly in favour of utilizing the vaccine, he says.
13:09
Raine is talking now.
According to the MHRA assertion out earlier (see 3.12pm), she says the proof has been reviewed, and there’s no proof that AstraZeneca vaccine is inflicting clots.
She says the uncommon mind clots are nonetheless being investigated. However there is no such thing as a proof that the AstraZeneca vaccine is accountable.
She says if individuals have a headache lasting for greater than 4 days after their vaccine, they need to search medical recommendation.
13:06
Johnson says he’ll discuss vaccine provide and security. The vaccine is the path to security, he says.
He quotes what the MHRA and the EMA have mentioned in regards to the security of the AstraZeneca vaccine. And he quotes the Public Well being England analysis about vaccine efficacy printed yesterday.
He says the AstraZeneca vaccine is protected and the Pfizer vaccine is protected. However what isn’t protected is getting the virus, he says.
He says he’s getting his first dose tomorrow; it is going to be an AstraZeneca jab.
He says the provides to the UK in April gained’t be as excessive as this month.
However the authorities at all times mentioned provide wouldn’t be easy. He says the hold-up has been attributable to security checks. And the federal government continues to be on course to satisfy its deadlines for vaccinations, he says.
13:00
Boris Johnson’s press convention
Boris Johnson is about to carry his press convention.
He will likely be showing with Prof Chris Whitty, the federal government’s chief medical adviser, and Dr June Raine, chief govt of the Medicines and Healthcare merchandise Regulatory Company.
12:58
The federal government ought to assume “lengthy and arduous” earlier than it tries to “curtail” the powers of the courts, a evaluate of the authorized problem course of has warned, PA Media stories. PA says:
An unbiased pane led by Lord Edward Faulks QC mentioned any adjustments ought to “solely be made after probably the most cautious consideration” due to the essential position they play in “constitutional preparations” and in “sustaining the rule of regulation”.
The findings come as Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, introduced plans to reform some judicial evaluate procedures in a bid to forestall judges from being drawn into politics.
A Ministry of Justice announcement right this moment mentioned the unbiased evaluate of administrative regulation discovered “courts have been more and more contemplating the deserves of presidency selections themselves, as a substitute of how these selections have been made – transferring past the remit of judicial evaluate”.
Up to date
12:54
Day by day second dose vaccinations in UK go 100,000 for first time
The UK authorities has up to date its coronavirus dashboard, and it exhibits that 119,609 individuals within the UK obtained their second dose of a vaccine yesterday. It’s the first time that determine has handed 100,000. And 462,246 individuals obtained their first dose of a vaccine.
There have additionally been 95 additional deaths and 6,303 new circumstances. Week on week, circumstances are near plateauing, however deaths proceed to fall by a few third week on week.
12:28
The European Medicines Company has declared that the AstraZeneca vaccine is “protected and efficient” and that the advantages of utilizing it outweigh any dangers. Its briefing is happening now. My colleague Mattha Busby is overlaying it on our international dwell weblog.
12:26
The Commons science committee has confirmed that Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former chief adviser, has agreed to offer proof in regards to the authorities’s dealing with of the coronavirus disaster at a listening to on Wednesday 26 Could. It will likely be a joint listening to with the Commons well being committee; the 2 committees are holding a joint ‘Coronavirus: classes learnt’ inquiry.
The date was introduced on a brand new Twitter account understood to have been launched by Cummings.
The listening to could possibly be extremely damaging to Boris Johnson. As Cummings’s feedback in regards to the Division of Well being yesterday confirmed, he has no qualms about denouncing his former authorities colleagues within the strongest phrases. Publicly he has by no means criticised Johnson, his shut ally from the Vote Depart marketing campaign, however there have been a number of stories claiming that they fell out final 12 months after Johnson resisted Cummings’ recommendation to lock down tougher and earlier.
At yesterday’s committee listening to, for somebody notoriously contemptuous of many MPs, Cummings sounded surprisingly eager to speak to them about how No 10 dealt with the pandemic.
Up to date
12:08
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the chief of the Commons, has accused a HuffPost UK journalist of being “both a knave or a idiot” over a narrative in regards to the international secretary, Dominic Raab, the second time in latest weeks that ministers have focused particular person reporters with claims of distorted protection, my colleague Peter Walker stories.