Jonathan Van-Tam says ‘we are on the glide path’ as Matt Hancock reveals vaccination could begin next month

If a Covid vaccine is approved by regulators, the treatment could be rolled-out in December said Mr Hancock
AP
April Roach @aprilroach2820 November 2020

The Government’s deputy chief medical officer said the UK is on the “glide path” for reducing the coronavirus rate as Matt Hancock revealed vaccination could begin as early as December.

The Health Secretary told the Downing Street press conference on Friday that the speed of the roll-out of a vaccine would depend on how fast it can be manufactured.

“If the regulator approves a vaccine we will be ready to start the vaccination next month with the bulk of roll-out in the new year," he announced.

“We are heading in the right direction but there is still a long way to go.”

Meanwhile Jonathan Van-Tam urged caution as he warned infection rates will increase again if the public ignore any guidelines put in place around Christmas.

“If people don’t (follow the guidelines) then the first scientific principle is things will go back up again. There is dual responsibility here. There is no magic number about how many days it is going to cost us,” he said.

Prof Van-Tam said he believed the country is on the “glide path” towards rolling out a vaccination programme.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock during a media briefing in Downing Street, London
Matt Hancock said the bulk of the UK’s vaccine roll-out could take place in the new year
PA

“Do I believe that we are now on the glide path to landing this plane? Yes I do,” he said.  

“Do I accept that sometimes when you are on the glide path you can have a side wind and the landing is not totally straightforward, totally textbook? Of course.”  

Prof Van-Tam, who was appearing remotely, said he was self-isolating due to a “household contact”.

Mr Hancock also revealed during the press briefing that he has asked the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to assess the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for use in the UK.

“The roll-out will be a massive logistical challenge but I know the NHS can do it,” said the Health Secretary.

It comes after the latest Office for National Statistics figures suggested that Covid-19 cases are levelling off in England and Scotland, and decreasing in Northern Ireland and Wales.

Infections rose by 20,252 on Friday, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to 1,473,508.

The Government said a further 511 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the UK total to 54,286.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in