Vaccine rollout reaches those aged 55 amid warning about summer surge of Covid

  • Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Elodie Harper

England’s Chief Medical Officer has said he would “strongly advise” against any move to shorten the timetable for easing lockdown restrictions.

Professor Chris Whitty said there were still risks to reopening society and the UK will experience another surge of cases at some point, potentially in late summer or through the autumn and winter.

Staff at a vaccination centre in Welwyn Garden City are preparing to ramp up appointments significantly as vaccine supply improves. Sarah Brown is the Director of Nursing, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust. She told ITV News Anglia: "As soon as we open up our bookings, those appointments are getting stacked up across all of our sites and we're now allowing bookings up to a month ahead instead of a week ahead." But the message is still not to be complacent about Covid, even after vaccination. Something people here seemed to take to heart.

People wait to receive their Covid-19 vaccine at the NHS vaccine centre that has been set up at Robertson House in Stevenage in January. Credit: Joe Giddens/PA Wire/PA Images

Speaking to the Commons Science and Technology Committee, Professor Whitty said that although older and vulnerable people would mostly be protected by vaccines, younger people will not all be vaccinated by April, and they mostly drive transmission of the virus.

Modelling considered by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has suggested that even under the most optimistic set of assumptions, at least a further 30,000 Covid-19 deaths could occur.

Prof Whitty said that “even if you have a relatively small proportion of people still remaining vulnerable, that still equates to a very large number of people overall”.

That might include people for whom the vaccine is not effective, those who do not take it or those in younger groups who have not yet been offered a jab, he said.

The vaccine rollout is being stepped up in Hertfordshire as more than 2.25 million have had their first injection in the East of England Credit: ITV News Anglia

In the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire there was a small rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the latest weekly figures from Public Health England.

In the week to Thursday 4 March, 86 people tested positive which was seven more than the week before.

Leon and Alice from nearby St Albans have both already been vaccinated but this has not led to any change in behaviour - only a change of heart. Alice Fikiori said: "We are still very careful. We are not isolating as we did a year ago we keep our distance and we wear masks."

In Hitchin today people were enjoying the sunshine as lockdown restrictions were slightly eased from Monday to allow two people to meet for a socially-distanced chat outside.

Some were still concerned that the return to schools would increase the spread of infections and there was a widespread sense of caution over the pace of lifting further restrictions.

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