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LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday (February 15) that he would chart a cautious but irreversible path out of the COVID-19 lockdown this week after vaccinating 15 million vulnerable people.
With nearly a quarter of the British population now inoculated with a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in just over two months, Johnson is under pressure from some lawmakers and businesses to reopen the economy.
“We have to be very cautious and what we want to see is progress that is cautious, but irreversible,” Johnson told reporters. “If possible, we will set dates.”
Johnson, who was to set the path out of lockdown on February 22, said infection rates were still high and too many people were still dying.
Speaking later from Downing Street, Johnson said there was not yet enough data on how vaccines were affecting the spread of COVID-19, although data from Israel, currently the world leader in vaccination, was promising.
“If you look at the data, for example, from Israel, you can actually see the effect, in the UK we can calculate an effect, but it’s much better when we can actually see it, when it’s big enough to be able to see it.” said the government’s top medical adviser, Chris Whitty.
Whitty also said that there were several variants that appeared to slightly reduce the effectiveness of currently available vaccines.
Johnson said he would do everything he can to make sure the schools reopen on March 8.
If many people become infected, there would be a high risk of mutation in the virus and an increased risk of it spreading to larger and more vulnerable groups, he said.
READ: Get used to the idea of vaccinating against COVID-19 again, says British Prime Minister Johnson
The largest and fastest global vaccine launch in history is seen as the best chance out of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed 2.4 million.
Britain has the fifth worst official death toll in the world (117,396) after the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India.
VACCINE PASSPORTS?
Britain has vaccinated 15.3 million people with a first dose and 539,630 with a second dose, the fastest per capita deployment of any large country. Hancock said he expected vaccine supplies to increase as manufacturing accelerated.
An influential group of lawmakers from Johnson’s Conservative Party is urging an end to the shutdown as soon as the nine most vulnerable groups are vaccinated. They don’t want any more rules after May 1.
“We are all filled with grief for the people we have lost, the damages we have suffered, but we do not honor those we love and lost by ruining the rest of our lives,” said legislator Steve Baker. “We have to find a way to rebuild our society and our economy and our prospects, our livelihoods.”
Britain is talking to other countries about issuing certificates to its citizens showing they have been vaccinated so they can travel abroad in the future to countries that require it.
“That’s going to be very much in the mix, going forward I think it’s going to happen,” Johnson said.
“What I don’t think we have in this country is, so to speak, vaccination passports that allow you to go to the pub, or something like that.”
Johnson said Britain would guarantee mass vaccination and rapid tests for nightclubs and theaters rather than requiring certification for normal life.
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