any changes to the lockdown measures in
england should be made in a cautious but
irreversible way according to boris
johnson
the prime minister hoping next monday to
set out his plans for easing
restrictions
including target dates for reopening
certain sectors
but he warned there was no cast iron
guarantee that the plans
wouldn't have to change while 15 million
people have now received their first
covet vaccine
experts say that infection rates are
still far too high
we'll have more on the vaccine program
in just a few minutes but first the
latest on the restrictions
from our political correspondent alex
forsyth
it seems a while since school
playgrounds were noisy
[Music]
since these empty pubs were bustling
next week we'll find out when
and how some of this might start to
return
for so many families it's been a long
wait
missing work missing just
hugging people really driving instructor
harvey's business has been parked
his daughter grace can't go to school
and they haven't seen parents and
grandparents for months
really it's been about a year since
we've actually had them down
here to stop and nobody's getting any
younger
so it's just thing let's hope but i just
don't want to rush it and
be back in this position again that's
what he is trying to avoid
even with good vaccine news urging
caution thank you
we want this lockdown
to be the last and we want
progress to be cautious
but also irreversible they're waiting
for more data before decisions about
opening up crucial is the effect of the
vaccine on the virus and death rates
i think the earliest indications would
imply there's some effect but i think
it's too early to be able to put a
number on that
the obviously israel is particularly far
ahead in its vaccination program
and there there is some evidence of of
effects
when things do begin to relax schools
will be the priority it's hoped they'll
start back in three weeks in england
more outdoor meetings could come next
followed by some
shops opening then possibly pubs and
restaurants
but there's no fixed timetable or firm
plan yet
scotland and northern ireland are going
at their own pace and from wales
a warning there can be no absolutes
prime minister you say you want this to
be the last lockdown but can you really
give that guarantee given the
unpredictable nature
of this pandemic no i can't give that
guarantee you've
of course not people should be very very
much encouraged by what's going on
at the moment but we want to set out a
timetable
that is realistic and that means
one that is obviously cautious all the
time restrictions last
labor says there must be support if we
are to ease out of lockdown with
caution you need to put these other
measures in place to stop the spread of
the virus like
paying people sick pay like ventilating
buildings
i think if you do that then this can be
the final lockdown and it has to be the
final lockdown
with the fast roll out of vaccines
there's pressure from some
tory mps to ease restrictions quickly by
may
but the prime minister's been accused of
getting people's hopes up
over-promising then under-delivering at
other points in this pandemic
downing street doesn't want to open up
just to have to close down again
they know politically and for the sake
of public health and confidence
they have to get this right for holiday
and hospitality businesses it means no
certainty just yet this caravan park in
cornwall has a backlog of bookings but
still isn't sure when people can come
we are now fully booked for easter which
is fantastic news
and that is 50 families desperate
to come and have a holiday and have a
respite we will know more about the
possibilities next week
but for now nothing is set in stone so
much still
up in the air well the prime minister is
expected to set out more details of his
plan to ease restrictions
next monday and it's thought that will
include some dates which will mark the
starting point at which various sectors
might be able to begin opening up but
downing street's really keen to stress
that nothing is definite
and it will all depend on the progress
of the virus they're going to keep
a very close eye on the data but while
the prime minister was keen to stress a
really
cautious note he did also point to the
advances in science of course the
vaccine program but also
treatments and testing even suggesting
that they could down the line be tests
to get into
night clubs quick turnaround or for
things like theaters that's all a long
way off
but it does point to the fact that even
when things start to open we could live
with the
effects of this virus for some time
alex many thanks once again alex
forsythe of the latest at westminster
well the united kingdom has more than
met the vaccine's target set six weeks
ago
the prime minister said today that if
supplies held up vaccinations would be
offered to everyone in the top
nine priority groups by the end of april
including
those aged over 65 and younger people
with underlying
health conditions but there is concern
in some groups
people with asthma or those with
learning difficulties for example
that they weren't included in the first
phase
our health editor hugh pim has more
details
visiting a vaccination center today the
prime minister was keen to praise all
those involved in getting more than 15
million people in the uk
inoculated with a first dose if you look
at what's happened in the last
few weeks it's been an unbelievable
effort by
the nhs and the doctors the nurses the
the the gp surgeries the hospitals of
course the the army has been fantastic
the pharmacists have done
a great job warehouse workers and
logistics experts helped get the
vaccines to hospitals doctors surgeries
and other hubs
this company's drivers covered more than
two hundred thousand
miles in two months delivering more than
five million vaccines in england
people aged 70 and over nhs and care
staff and residents
and those who are clinically extremely
vulnerable were in the first
target groups on friday the welsh
government was the first in the uk
to report that everyone in the top four
priority groups
had been offered a first dose of the
vaccine since then ministers in england
and scotland have also confirmed
that target has been hit in northern
ireland officials say
everyone in those groups will have been
offered it by the end of this month
from today the next priority groups will
be offered vaccinations
starting with the 65 to 69 age range
nearly 3 million people
then comes those under 65 with
underlying health conditions
more than 7 million next will be the 60
to 64 year olds nearly 2 million
and then those in their 50s more than 5
million with a target of more than 17
million in the uk by the end of april
some with asthma like ellie who has to
use her inhaler four times a day
didn't know whether they'd be considered
part of the priority group with health
conditions
she says the communication's been poor
for me personally it's just been
the confusion um over whether or not
you qualify for the vaccine that's been
a pretty stressful
couple of months officials have said
those with severe asthma will be offered
jabs at this stage
others like ellie are deemed to be lower
risk come
on good boy amanda who has mild learning
disabilities
said there was also confusion for her
and others about getting the vaccine
i was told i couldn't have it to begin
with
uh and then i just kept ringing my gp
and i still got
nowhere and this morning i phoned and
they
said that i could go to the local town
hall and have it done
all this means the latest phase could be
more complex than before
with the added pressure of people from
the first wave of vaccinations
needing their second dose hugh pim bbc
news
it's time to have a look at the latest
government figures and
there were 9765 new infections recorded
in the latest 24-hour period an average
of twelve thousand five hundred and
eighty new cases were recorded per day
in the past week twenty three thousand
three hundred and forty one people
are in hospital with covid across the uk
in the last 24 hours 230 deaths have
been recorded that's people who died
within 28 days of a positive covet test
657 deaths were renounced on average
every day in the past week and the total
number of people who've
died so far is 117 396.
that brings us to the latest numbers on
vaccinations
237 962 people
had a first dose of one of the two
available
covet vaccines in the latest 24-hour
period
which takes the number of people who
have now had their first job
to 15 million 300 151
so now that i've gone through those
figures let's talk to our medical editor
fergus walsh prime minister said today
that
number of infections was still far too
high um having said that
there are lots of positive signs in the
figures
you yet the daily cases are actually at
their lowest level now since
early october on the flip side there are
still
nearly 3 000 patients on ventilators and
1600
people a day being admitted to hospital
with covid and still more patients in
hospital than at the peak
last april but this time around of
course we have the vaccine and we have
the first
very tentative signs of the impact it
may be having on reducing
the risk of dying mortality rates among
the over 80s
are falling much faster than among
younger age groups and of course they
were the first group
to be immunized but the data is still
very early we need one or two weeks more
data
to be sure about that now israel which
is further ahead
in its immunization rollout than even
the uk
where they're using the pfizer jab have
shown that two doses
seems to prevent nearly all symptomatic
infection
and severe illness which is really
encouraging but scientists
advising the government would like to
see a very cautious
approach to lifting restrictions with a
three-week gap
between each measure like opening
schools
because it will then allow them to
ensure that the impact of that can be
gauged
because what everybody wants is for this
to be the last lockdown
indeed focus thanks very much again
fergus walsh there our medical editor