As-it-happened: Second jabs so important - Hancock

BBCCopyright: BBC

We are going to be bringing our rolling coornavirus updates to a close soon so here's a recap on the day's news:

• It is "so important" for vulnerable people to have their second jab, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says as UK Indian variant cases rise to almost 3,000
• He announces more surge testing and vaccinations in Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Kirklees, North Tyneside and Hounslow

• The world's first clinical trial into Covid booster jabs is launched in England

• Earlier, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urged the PM to scrap the travel traffic light system, saying it has "confused" messaging
• Boris Johnson has warned people should not be holidaying in amber list countries, after a minister said people could visit friends
• EU ambassadors have backed proposals to reopen borders for non-essential travel from countries with low infection rates
• A decision on whether to add the UK and other countries to the EU's "safe list" will be made on Friday
• India has recorded one of the highest ever number of daily coronavirus deaths in the world, at 4,529

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has tweeted an open letter calling on decision makers at every level to support the return of Parkrun in England.

Double Olympic gold medallist Lord Coe writes: “Maybe we have taken Parkrun for granted. Quietly and unassumingly, Parkrun has become part of the fabric of everyday life. But unless we get behind it now, we risk losing it forever.”

The free 5k Saturday-morning event is expected to return in England next month, although permissions to use many venues have yet to be granted.

Last week, the sports minister Nigel Huddleston told the House of Commons Parkrun event applications should be considered "very seriously and sympathetically" by local authorities.

Lord Coe calls it “one of the greatest public health initiatives of the 21st century”.

"Its footprint is now global, with an influence and a following that crosses borders, inspiring communities from Sheffield to Soweto, and from San Francisco to St Petersburg. But it all began in London. And it is a legacy that all Londoners should be proud of."

Experts from the government’s modelling group, SPI-M, met this afternoon to discuss the latest thinking on how the Indian variant will spread. I understand that experts at the meeting agreed that cases of the Indian variant are rising sharply in parts of the UK but beyond that there was a wide range of viewpoints as to how quickly it will spread from now on.

Estimates of the increased transmissibility of the new variant range between 10% and 50%. The uncertainty is due to a variety of factors. First the surge arose as a result of people rushing back from India before restrictions were imposed. Many returned to crowded, multigenerational households. And the early spread has been among young people – who tend to mix more than older groups – many of whom have been vaccinated – and so much less likely to become infected or infect others.

Ministers want to know within weeks whether it is safe to proceed to the final stage of lifting restrictions on 21 June. The answer to that depends on how quickly the variant spreads, to what degree it is resistant to vaccines and crucially, how many people might become severely ill.

The scientists should have a clearer picture in a couple of weeks’ time – but their answers are unlikely to be definitive by the deadline set by ministers.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has just finished giving a coronavirus briefing from 10 Downing Street - here's what we learnt:

• Hospital admissions and deaths are "very low" but the Indian variant could knock the UK off track
• There are now 2,967 cases of the Indian variant in the UK - up from about 2,300 on Monday
• The government is using an "advance surveillance system" to pick up coronavirus and its variants through monitoring waste water and travel patterns in different areas
• Surge testing and vaccinations will now be introduced in Bedford, Burnley, Hounslow, Kirklees, Leicester and North Tyneside
• The weekly case data in Bolton is now 283 per 100,00 and it doubled in the past week
• There are now 25 people in Bolton Hospital with Covid - the majority are unvaccinated
• Seven out of 10 adults in the UK have had their first dose and almost four in 10 have had two doses
• The UK will launch the world's first clinical trial into coronavirus booster jabs
• Thousands of volunteers are being asked to sign up for a third jab to help the study

BBCCopyright: BBC

The final question is from Andrew Woodcock from the Independent, who says the European Council has decided to recommend that anyone who has been fully vaccinated can come to the EU this summer.

He asks why people who are vaccinated in the UK aren't exempt from the traffic light system for travel.

He adds what sort of risk do people present who have been fully vaccinated and return from being abroad.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says most parts of Europe have a higher rate of the virus than the UK - "some significantly".

There is also a "much more significant" presence of the South African variant of concern in mainland Europe, he says.

Hancock says the UK is wise to take a cautious approach to international travel right now.

England's deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, says vaccine effectiveness is not 100% and protection will vary by individuals, with factors including age and whether people have suppressed immune systems.

He says when or if a vaccine fails to give a maximum amount of protection what will go first is the vaccine's ability to protect you from infection and infecting others.

The things that will go last are the protection from being hospitalised and dying, he adds.

Hancock says he will meet G7 health ministers to discuss a united emergence from coronavirus.

He says: "If this pandemic has taught us anything it's taught us that that our health is intertwined together."

"Next month I'll be welcoming health ministers from G7 nations to Oxford, the birthplace of this vaccine that saved so many lives. There we will hold the G7 health ministers' forum not just to talk about how to fight this pandemic in the here and now, but how we need to emerge stronger, healthier and safer with the great democracies of the world working together.

"This after all is a virus that attacks all of humanity and it calls upon everyone to step up and think about what we can do," he says.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Heather Stuart at the Guardian asks, given the concerns about variants, would it be prudent to wait until all adults have at least some protection from a vaccine before removing masks and social distancing on 21 June?

She also asks if people should avoid travelling to areas where there is a spike in the Indian variant and should those who live there avoid meeting up?

Hancock says the decision on ending social distancing requirements will be taken on 14 June.

Van-Tam says the areas that have been mentioned in the press briefing, including Bolton, are "absolutely areas of concern for now".

"I would advise residents in those areas to think very carefully about the freedoms they have, weigh up the risks and be very cautious," he says.

He says "take it steady, don't tear the pants out of it" but we can't live for years and years with rules.

"People have to learn to manage the risks for themselves," he adds.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Harry Cole from the Sun says earlier in the week ministers said people could go to amber list countries to visit friends but today Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people would need an "extreme reason" to go.

He asks Health Secretary Matt Hancock to give an example of this.

He also asks if the rate of increase in hospitalisations in Bolton is a cause for concern or not.

Hancock says the government has been "absolutely crystal clear" that you should not go to an amber or red list country on holiday.

He says an example where people might visit such a country would be to see a very ill family member or attend a funeral.

He says people should either book a holiday in green list countries or stay at home.

Dr Harries says on hospital numbers it's not just Bolton they are monitoring but every area where variants are being detected.

She says the government is looking continuously for increased hospital admissions and deaths associated with variants.

But she says this is not being seen at the moment.

"We're not seeing sharp rises at the moment, but clearly we will continue to monitor that."

BBCCopyright: BBC

Cathy Newman at Channel 4 asks Hancock: "You spoke about standing side by side with other national in the world but tonight we are reporting on the treasury's insistence that any Covid related help that your department gives to countries like Inda has to come out of the UK government's overall international aid budget, would you like the chancellor to reconsider that?"

Hancock says: "Of course we are helping other countries including India and of course it counts as overseas development aid because it is, but what I'm really pleased about is that we've been able to support India to so much already."

He says we have sent oxygen concentrators and machines that generate oxygen to support their hospitals.

Newman asks that if this is paid for out of the international aid budget "aren't you then risking cuts to other international aid?"

Hancock says the budget is "very generous" and accounts for 0.5% of our GDP and this is exactly the sort of project it should be spent on.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Emily Morgan from ITV says the Indian variant is still spreading and asks if the government is not worried this will inevitably lead to more deaths and hospital admissions.

Hancock says "not necessarily", adding this is why the government has taken the approach it has.

He says surge testing worked effectively at reducing the spread of the South African variant.

He says the advantage now compared with the autumn is the UK knows "so much more about it so much faster" because of the "extraordinary surveillance capability".

Harries says in Bolton alone, last weekend 6,000 people were vaccinated.

She says we are in a "completely different place to where we were last year".

With testing, the UK can follow backwards chains of transmission, she says.

She adds that in Sefton cases have plateaued and are starting to come down again.

Hancock says that by getting tested, vaccinated and behaving with caution "we can get this under control".

Van-Tam says that vaccines will need support from people being cautious and test and trace.

He adds that protection from a first dose kicks in about 21 days after vaccination, while increased protection from a second dose begins "much quicker" - after about seven to 10 days.

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBC health editor Hugh Pym asks: "At what point do you think you will have enough data on the spread of the Indian variant and the impact on hospital numbers to give a clearer picture on the next stage of the roadmap?

"And what is your current assessment on how fast the Indian variant is spreading relative to the existing UK variant?"

Hancock says in terms of the roadmap the final stage will not be before the 21 June and they hope to give a decision on that on 14 June using all the information we have until then.

"Clearly everyday we are getting more information," he says.

Prof Van Tam says: "I think scientists are sure this virus is more transmissible than the strain it is beginning to replace" but we do not know yet how transmissible it is.

He says the data should "firm up some time next week" when it will be the first time when we have a "ranging shot at what the transmissibility increase is".

This will feed into models into how it looks in terms of a resurgence and minister will be able to make further decisions, he says.

BBCCopyright: BBC

The next question from the public is from Iris in London, who asks why pregnant women aren't prioritised for vaccinations over other groups.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, says the guidance on vaccines has been "very cautionary".

She says the UK didn't have any information specific to pregnant women at the start of the pandemic, but this has been acquired over time.

She says it is "entirely appropriate" for pregnant women who are otherwise fit and healthy to be called in to be vaccinated with their own age groups.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Helen from Manchester, a member of the public, asks: "Not including the autumn booster, how long will vaccine protection last - when will we need another booster?"

Prof Van Tam says: "The short answer is we don't yet know."

He says early data shows antibodies existing for at least six months but antibodies are not the totality of the protection again viruses.

Scientists will be watching very closely for cases of Covid in people that have been fully vaccinated, as it would be a tell-tale sign that protection is starting to wane, he says.

In the absence of variants, the protection from the vaccine might last for "quite some time" in young peeople, he says.

The JCVI will give advice to government about what the next steps are, he says.

Hancock says the UK has "probably done more than any other nation to help vaccinate the world poorest".

That is "thanks to the gift to the world of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine" which the UK makes available to other countries at cost, he says.

Almost 1.5bn vaccine doses have now been given across the world and 400m of those have been the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, which has now been delivered in 160 countries.

Two thirds of the 400m doses have gone to low and middle income countries, including 170m in India "where they've been obviously so badly affected by this virus", he says.

We have donated £0.5bn to Covax which has delivered vaccines in over 120 countries, he says.

Of the 67m jabs delivered through Covax over 65m have been the AZ vaccine, he says.

"This vaccination programme is something every British taxpayer has had a part in supporting and everyone in the United Kingdom should be incredibly proud of it," he says.

Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, is up next to go through the data.

He says the UK is in a "very low place indeed" in terms of case numbers, with the most recent seven-day average just over 2,000 cases - and that trend is "absolutely flat".

He says the number of people in hospital is "better than flat", with a drop of more than 17% in the past week.

In terms of deaths, the most recent-seven day average is now eight deaths a day, he says.

He ends by saying almost 37 million people have now received a first vaccine dose and more than 20 million have received both doses.

Van-Tam adds that it is important to make sure that the latter number catches up to the first - and this will be the challenge in the coming weeks.

As we were expecting, Hancock announces a new clincial trial backed by £19m of taxpayer's money to look at the use of current vaccines as booster vaccines.

You can sign up to be part of the trial at www.covboost.org.uk, he says.

It will be the first clinical study in the world to look at the impact of a booster jab, he says.

The Cov-Boost study led by the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust will trial seven vaccines including Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, Valneva, Janssen and Curevac.

You can read more here.

Hancock says as we replace the "shield of restrictions with the sword of the vaccine programme" we must keep driving the jabs as fast as we can.

He says as of midnight seven out of 10 adults have now had their first dose and almost four in 10 have had two doses.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the government is changing its recommendation for the intervals between doses for over-50s from 12 weeks to eight weeks.

He says the experience of Bolton shows it's "incredibly important" to get vaccines to the final few percent of people who have not had them.

He says uptake of both first and second doses has been "incredibly high", but the government needs to get second doses to everyone who has had the first.

He says the decision to have a gap of 12 weeks has saved about 12,000 lives, but the decision to accelerate second doses for over-50s is about getting maximum protection for those at greatest risk.

Hancock says the weekly coronavirus case rates in Bolton are now 283 per 100,000 and it doubled in the past week.

There are 25 people in hospital in Bolton with covid, the majority are totally unvaccinated and 90% have not yet had two vaccine doses, he says.

An extra 14,000 vaccines have been given in Blackburn and Bolton since Friday and 26,000 vaccinations were given in the last week

Another 75,000 extra tests have been sent to Bolton and Blackburn, he says.

Hancock says the government has an "extensive surveillance system" to spot coronavirus and its variants by analysing travel patterns as well as waste water in 70% of the country.

He says surge testing is now increasing in Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Kirklees, North Tyneside and Hounslow in London.