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England’s route out of lockdown remains on schedule and the Prime Minister stated that there is nothing to dissuade him from “continuing on our roadmap to freedom.”
Speaking to the Conservative Party virtual spring conference, Boris Johnson said he was looking forward to going to the hair salon, having a pint at a pub and “unlocking our economy and getting back to the life we love.”
He told party faithful that “the fastest launch of a vaccine this country has ever seen” had been an “incredible scientific breakthrough” and paid tribute to the work of the teams involved in making it happen, describing them as “heroes, heroes, heroes “.
Prime Minister says he expects a haircut
But he warned that while “we are in a different world than last spring,” it was necessary to be “honest about the difficulties that lie ahead.”
He said there were still unanswered questions about the impact of a third coronavirus wave in Europe, as he said “bitter experience” had shown that a wave like Europe’s would hit the UK “three weeks later”.
COVID updates live from the UK and around the world
Johnson added: “The question is: is this going to be as bad as in the past? Or have we sufficiently mitigated, cushioned and blunted the impact of the vaccine launch?”
“That is a question for which we do not yet know the answer.”
However, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, again alluded on Saturday to the alleged distribution problems that, he says, the United Kingdom will have with the second doses.
Le Drian told France Info radio: “The UK prides itself on vaccinating well with the first dose, except it has a problem with the second.”
But the claim was again denied by the UK government, with a spokesperson saying: “We are on track to meet our vaccination targets and everyone will receive their second dose within 12 weeks of the first.”
Meanwhile, the government was also accused by a high-ranking conservative of failing Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Communities (BAME) and young women for their doubts about vaccines.
Caroline Nokes, chair of the Committee for Women and Equality of the Commons, said in a letter to Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi that failure to address the problem could be “devastating” for groups who doubt vaccines and for society at large. .
However, there was better news for those over 70 after it was announced that they might start getting booster shots to protect them against new variants of the coronavirus in September.
Zahawi said the first booster doses would go to the four highest priority groups, including nursing home staff, NHS workers and the clinically extremely vulnerable.
He told the Telegraph that this would likely start in September and that the government expected up to eight different hits to be available by the fall.
The prime minister’s speech came on the day the “stay local” measures in Wales were lifted, meaning there are no travel restrictions within the country for the first time since December.
Six people from two homes can also get together and exercise outdoors, and the independent vacation rentals can reopen starting today.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Prime Minister Arlene Foster received her first dose of a COVID vaccine, receiving a puncture from AstraZeneca at Castle Park Leisure Center in Lisnaskea.
Analysis: Johnson’s speech calls on activists to use the vaccine program as a weapon
By Rob Powell, Political Correspondent
This speech is Boris Johnson back in his comfort zone.
Breezy, upbeat, and safer than the brooding, caring hues we’ve grown used to.
In this launch of the de facto local elections, the prime minister calls on activists to essentially weaponize the phenomenally successful vaccine program to win votes in May.
In particular, it highlights the “quite important role” that the government has played and praises conservative ideals such as “private sector power” and the “free market economy.”
This is a campaign speech in the COVID era for a conservative party fully aware that the last three months could give them a “vaccine bounce” at the polls.
The opposition is expected to focus on the government’s checkered record in the early stages of the pandemic and to give credit to the vaccine program not to the prime minister, but to the NHS.
