The UK has vaccinated more than 15 million people in the first phase of its vaccination campaign. The milestone was announced by the UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who hailed it as an extraordinary feat after just two months. Johnson added that they had also achieved at least one jab to the top four priority groups, praising the National Health Services (NHS) ‘s coordinated efforts to vaccinate the over-70s, care, home residents, and staff health and social workers in the first phase.
UK vaccination campaign
Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales, offered his optimism that the UK would be able to vaccinate the next five groups provided nothing got in the way. He also added that in the next lockdown review scheduled for February 19th, the government would prioritize the return of students aged between three to seven years for in-person classes. The review would also look into other older groups and vocational courses as the country continue to look at different ways to reopen the economy.
However, on reopening other sectors of the economy, Drakeford indicated that the review changes would be very marginal and would include the possibility of allowing outdoors to be used a little more by adjusting requirements to make them more flexible for families.
However, Drakeford cautioned that these changes would not be revealed until the Thursday review, which is expected to shed light on the UK’s reopening plan.
He added that he was optimistic that Thursday’s decision would help lawmakers make more informed decisions on how to bring more children back to classrooms.
On whether pubs and restaurants would be able to reopen by April, the first minister refused to rule out the possibility, only suggesting that it was unlikely that they would reopen by that time.
