UK weather: Met Office issues warnings for rain and snow lasting until next week - Sky News

Large swathes of the UK will see a return to biting cold temperatures over the next few days, with heavy snowfall and a month's worth of rain forecast for parts of England and Scotland.

Temperatures could drop by around 10C to just above freezing between Thursday and Monday across large parts of England.

Yet it may feel as cold as -5C (23F) across some areas of the UK from Sunday, with a band of cold air forecast to move in from the east, remaining in place for the early part of next week, and keeping temperatures hovering around freezing.

Image: Friday's weather warnings. Pic: Met Office

Image: Saturday's weather warnings. Pic: Met Office

Weather warnings for snow are in place for parts of Scotland on Thursday and Friday, alongside further rainfall warnings for the north-east of England and Northern Ireland.

A more severe amber snow warning is also in place for much of Scotland from the early hours of Friday until midday on Saturday, with forecasters predicting as much as 50cm snowfall in the highest areas between now and Saturday evening.

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Disruption to travel and utilities are likely, with the risk of communities being cut off.

Further yellow weather warnings on Sunday cover much of Scotland and the east coast of England down as far as parts of Cambridgeshire and Essex, warning of the risk of some snow and ice into Monday.

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Up to 80mm of rain is expected to have fallen in isolated parts of the north-east of England between Tuesday evening and Saturday lunchtime - almost one-and-a-half times the volume expected in the region during the whole month of February.

Image: Monday's weather warnings. Pic: Met Office

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The long range forecast

It comes as the first snowdrops of the season have begun to emerge, often seen as the start of spring.

Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said: "We could see a drop of about 10C in widely expected daytime temperatures going into the weekend and next week.

"Cold air will come in from the east over the weekend, which will bring temperatures down."

She added: "That doesn't take into account the wind chill, so those cold winds may make it feel much colder than temperatures."

The Environment Agency currently has dozens of its second-most-severe flood warnings in place, along sections of river including the Thames, the Severn, and the Ouse, meaning flooding is expected.

There are also more than 100 less-severe flood alerts in place, across almost every region of England, meaning flooding is possible.

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2021-02-04 19:03:02Z
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UK snow map: Ferocious Scandinavian freeze to unleash blizzard hell in 48 hours - charts - Daily Express

UK Weather: Chart forecasts heavy snow and rain

Terrifying weather charts show freezing air from Scandinavia closing in on the UK, bringing bitterly cold temperatures and widespread wintry conditions this weekend. The Met Office currently has four weather warnings in place for snow, ice and rain, across Scotland and eastern parts of England. Across northwest Scotland an amber alert of “persistent and heavy” snow has been put in place until 6am on Saturday, with up to 50cm of snow expected. But most of the UK can expect brutal snowstorms as well.

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In a post on Twitter, the Met Office added levels of snow could get “dangerously deep” and urged people to get “shovels at the ready”.

Snow showers will be focused on central and northern parts of Scotland going into the early part of the weekend, before spreading further south and eastwards across the UK.

A model produced by WXcharts, shows large areas of Britain engulfed by snow showers by Sunday as an area low pressure sweeps in from Europe.

Weather maps show most areas of the UK turning white by Sunday afternoon, with widespread snow showers across the southeast of England, the Midlands, the North and Scotland.

UK snow map: Heavy snow showers are forecast this weekend (Image: WXCHARTS)

UK snow map: Large areas of the UK will be hit with snow (Image: WXCHARTS)

Overnight on Sunday, central parts of Scotland could see snow levels accumulate to 20.5 inches (52cm), according to WXcharts.

Up to 5.5 inches (14cm) is expected in East Anglia, five inches (11cm) in Birmingham and 1.5 inches (4cm) in the South.

An amber snow alert has been enforced for Scotland from this afternoon until Saturday morning, and warns of blizzards and ice.

It says: “Snow is expected to become more widespread, persistent and heavy from Thursday afternoon and continue through to Saturday.

UK snow map: Cold-air will sweep in from the continent (Image: WXCHARTS)

“Fresh snowfall totals of 10-15 cm is possible at low-levels, with 20-30cm accumulating above about 150m.

“Some high ground exposed to strong easterly winds could see as much as 50cm building up by Saturday morning.”

It adds: “The strong easterly winds will likely lead to drifting snow, temporary blizzard conditions, and ice forming on exposed power lines and phone masts.

“Persistent snow should ease on Saturday, though snow showers will follow.”

UK snow map: Temperatures will fall to -10C in Scotland (Image: WXCHARTS)

UK snow map: The Met Office has issued four weather warnings (Image: MET OFFICE)

Temperatures will remain fairly moderate over the next 24 hours with single digits lows across vast areas of the UK, before a deep-chill takes over on Saturday evening.

Bitterly-cold air will begin to move in a westerly direction from the continent, as WXcharts show the whole of the UK turning ice-blue.

Mercury will plummet to overnight lows of –8C in Scotland, -3C in the north of England and -1C in Wales and the South.

READ MORE: Brexit LIVE: No10 hits Brussels with huge ultimatum

UK snow map: Sub-zero temperatures are forecast overnight on Sunday (Image: WXCHARTS)

Heavy snow showers on Sunday afternoon will send the Mercury plummeting even further into the evening, with overnight lows of -10C in central Scotland, -4C in the north of England and -3C in Wales and the south of England.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mark Sidaway warns further wintry shows are expected across the south of England going into next week.

Mr Sidaway said: “Into the weekend snow will continue across much of Scotland, and is likely to increasingly fall to low levels before beginning to move south into northern and eastern England.

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“We are likely to see some very large accumulations across higher parts of Scotland especially, with strong winds leading to significant drifting and blizzard conditions at times.

“Although amounts of snow across England are likely to be less than seen across Scotland.

"The potential is there for some heavy snow across eastern England later in the weekend, and perhaps elsewhere in southern Britain as we head into next week, with very cold easterly winds.”

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2021-02-04 18:01:00Z
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Minister predicts 'good summer' as expert sees life 'getting back to normal' | ITV News - ITV News

Life in the UK will be "getting much more back to normal" by the end of spring, a government coronavirus adviser has told ITV News.

Andrew Hayward, who sits on the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), warned it is currently too soon to relax lockdown restrictions, with resurgence of Covid-19 "still a big possibility".

He said: "We really can't afford to be easing restrictions just yet, but that will start to come, and particularly as we move towards the tail end of spring and summer I see things getting much more back to normal."

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Government adviser on chances of normality by summer:

He said the government should take a "cautious approach" to relaxing restrictions, with any easing posing a risk "of quite severe disease and quite severe long term consequences".

But once the top four priority groups have been vaccinated, which the government hopes to achieve by mid-February, then hospital figures and mortality may fall enough "to allow some easing of restrictions, depending on the epidemiological situation at the time".

Prof Hayward said it could take "some time" before all of the nine priority groups are vaccinated, but if restrictions bring levels down sufficiently then "easing in some sectors in a phased way is probably the way things will go".

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Experts and ministers will be "keeping an eye on that because the last thing we want is a rebound just before we vaccinate everyone".

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi told ITV News he is "confident that if we keep going as we're going, we'll have a good summer".

He said it depended on the success of the vaccine rollout, but with the UK on track to vaccinate the top four most vulnerable groups by mid-February then "we should see by the first week of March a real impact on hospitalisation numbers and of course on mortality".

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Vaccines minister on hopes of a 'good summer':

He added: "On February 22 [Prime Minister Boris Johnson], when Parliament returns, will set out the road map to first of all open our schools on March 8 and from there onwards reopen the economy gradually."

At Wednesday's Downing Street press conference, England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said he and most of his medical colleagues "think we are past the peak" of the current wave of coronavirus, but added that doesn't mean there won't be another one.

His comments followed the news that the UK had vaccinated 10 million people.

Reaching the milestone means 15% of UK residents have now been given their first coronavirus jab.Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed it as a "hugely significant milestone".

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Listen to the ITV News Politics Podcast:

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2021-02-04 15:23:00Z
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Brussels pushes back on UK bid to rewrite Northern Ireland protocol - Financial Times

Boris Johnson has been urged by Brussels to focus on the “proper implementation” of post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland, rather than threatening to suspend them.

Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice-president, will travel to London next week to try to defuse growing tensions in Northern Ireland and head off calls for a radical rewriting of the Brexit protocol covering the region.

Mr Sefcovic held what were officially described as “constructive” talks with British and Northern Ireland politicians on Wednesday, but there are frustrations in Brussels at the mounting sense of crisis.

Boris Johnson added to that mood on Wednesday when he told MPs he could invoke emergency measures to ensure there was no “barrier of any kind in the Irish Sea”.

Mr Johnson said he would legislate if necessary or use emergency override powers — Article 16 in the Northern Ireland protocol, which forms part of the UK’s 2019 Brexit treaty with Brussels — to maintain the free flow of trade between Great Britain and the region.

But Mr Sefcovic told the Irish broadcaster RTE that the protocol already included “flexibility” to minimise border friction on such trade and urged the UK to “use and put into practice that flexibility”.

He added that “the United Kingdom should deliver on what they committed to do, that we would have proper implementation of the protocol. For us this is absolutely key for avoiding a hard border, for maintaining the peace, for really delivering on what we promised to the people in the Northern Ireland and Ireland”.

The rhetoric from both sides highlights sharp differences in how they view the debate over Article 16 and the fallout from the European Commission’s abortive move to invoke it last week.

EU officials and member state diplomats believe the decision to trigger the Article 16 provisions stop the flow of vaccines into Northern Ireland — published and then pulled on Friday — was a big mistake but not one with long-term implications.

Pro-UK unionists, including Northern Ireland’s first minister Arlene Foster, leader of the DUP, have seen Brussels’s willingness to consider overriding the protocol as a justification for a thorough review of the way it operates.

Mrs Foster has called on the British government to find “permanent solutions” to problems created by the protocol in relation to trade in goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The extra checks on trade across the Irish Sea are needed because the Brexit deal left Northern Ireland inside the EU single market for goods and under Brussels customs rules. Both sides agreed on the need to avoid any checks on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Mrs Foster’s growing hostility to the protocol and threats made towards port workers who carry out trade checks in Belfast and Larne have convinced British ministers that reforms to the protocol are needed to maintain the peace process.

Michael Gove, cabinet office minister, has asked Mr Sefcovic to agree to extend “grace periods” — the suspension of normal checks — for trade in goods like parcels, chilled meat, supermarket supplies and medicines until 2023.

But Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill, Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, said the EU wanted to be “pragmatic and constructive” in resolving “teething problems” with the protocol, which is seen as vital in maintaining the open border on the island of Ireland.

“There are clearly some issues that need to be resolved, but we need to focus very much on providing political leadership to find those issues as opposed to trying to tear down an agreement that was four years in the making,” she told RTE.

Ms O'Neill added: “The DUP approach is unrealistic, there's no sense of renegotiating the protocol, so they need to dial down the rhetoric, they need to be focused on trying to find solutions to the outstanding issues.”

Inspections at Belfast and Larne ports were still suspended on Thursday for a third successive day, Northern Ireland's agriculture department said. “[The] situation remains unchanged at present.”

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2021-02-04 12:43:00Z
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Almost 4,000 Covid variants exist around the world, vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi says - Daily Mail

Almost 4,000 Covid variants exist around the world, vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi says as he reveals UK is keeping a 'library' of mutations to ensure virus doesn't learn to evade jabs

• Vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said that the UK was storing virus mutations
• Oxford/AstraZeneca said they will have an adapted version ready by end of 2021
• The South African and Brazilian variants both have a mutation called E484K 

By Emily Webber For Mailonline

Published: 12:16 GMT, 4 February 2021 | Updated: 13:56 GMT, 4 February 2021

Around 4,000 Covid variants exist around the world, the UK's vaccine minister said today. 

Nadhim Zahawi said that the UK is keeping a 'library' of the mutations so it is better prepared to ensure jabs can be updated as needed in the future. 

Scientists fear the SARS-CoV-2 virus — which is constantly evolving — could learn to evade vaccine-triggered immunity. The main worrying variants at the moment are B.1.1.7, found in England; B.1.351, which emerged in South Africa; and P.1, from Brazil.

The South African and Brazilian variants both carry a mutation called E484K, which changes the spike protein on the virus in a way that makes vaccines less effective. But top Government advisers insist the current crop of Covid jabs should still work and won't be rendered completely useless.

In a bid to overcome the threat of variants, jab manufacturers say they are already working on updating their vaccines because they need to be extremely specific in order to offer the best form of protection. 

However top experts today dismissed the 4,000 claim and suggested Mr Zahawi got confused between 'variants' and 'individual mutations'. 

The Government vaccines tsar Nadhim Zahawi said that the UK was storing the mutations so it is better prepared to ensure vaccines can be updated as needed

The main worrying variants at the moment are B.1.1.7, found in England; B.1.351, which emerged in South Africa; and P.1, from Brazil

And the Oxford/AstraZeneca team, makers of one of the world's most advanced vaccines so far, confirmed yesterday that they will have their adapted version ready and manufactured before the end of 2021. 

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Zahawi said: 'All manufacturers - Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford/AstraZeneca and others - are looking at how they can improve their vaccine to make sure we are ready for any variant.

'There are about 4,000 variants around the world of Covid now.

'We have the largest genome sequencing industry - we have about 50 per cent of the world's genome sequencing industry - and we are keeping a library of all the variants so that we are ready to be able to respond, whether in the autumn or beyond, to any challenge the virus may present, and produce the next vaccine so we can always protect the United Kingdom and of course the rest of the world as well.'    

Mr Zahawi's comments come after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps claimed last month that there are 12,000 different mutations of coronavirus.

Meanwhile Professor Ravi Gupta, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Cambridge, said: 'The vaccine minister is not referring to variants as we have come to know them rather he is referring to individual mutations. 

'The number of mutations has little actual relevance as many mutations emerge and disappear continuously. 

'Scientists are using 'variants' to describe viruses with mutations that are transmitting in the general population – there aren't 4,000 of those.'

Vaccines are likely to have be updated over time to cope with mutated variants of the coronavirus because they make specific molecules to target the virus. 

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, named ChAdOx1, is one of the most advanced in the world and has already been given to millions of people and data suggests it can stop transmission of the virus as well as severe Covid-19 disease

One of the main ways the immune system destroys viruses — but not the only one — is by using antibodies, but these are generally unique to every different virus and must be made from scratch.

Vaccinating someone introduces a part of the virus to the body so the immune system can mould antibodies to it and then store them in case it comes into contact with the real, live virus in the future. 

 

So far the UK has placed orders for 367million doses of the seven most promising Covid vaccines — made by AstraZeneca , Pfizer , Moderna, Valneva, Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline and Novavax — at a cost of £2.9billion

When the virus mutates and changes shape – as its spike protein has in coronavirus cases caused by the South Africa variant and the ones found in Brazil and Kent – these antibodies can become outdated and less successful at targeting the virus.   

In a separate interview with BBC Breakfast Mr Zahawi said data from frontline health workers and care home residents would provide a 'clear roadmap' for reopening the economy. 

He said: 'We have got two sets of data that we are waiting for. One is in care homes where Public Health England are testing residents because they are in category one, and one with health frontline workers who are category two of that top nine.' 

'Those pieces of evidence coupled with other pieces of evidence from other countries as well will hopefully give us a very clear roadmap to opening the economy where we see a huge reduction in hopefully of deaths and hospitalisation.' 

Oxford and AstraZeneca will make a new Covid vaccine by AUTUMN to tackle mutated variants as coronavirus keeps evolving to escape the immune system

Oxford University and AstraZeneca plan to have a new Covid vaccine ready by the autumn to tackle new variants of the coronavirus, they confirmed yesterday.  

Growing evidence suggests that a mutation first found in the South African variant of the virus, and now cropping up elsewhere, can reduce how well current vaccines work because it changes the shape of the spike protein that the jabs target.

And to overcome this, jab manufacturers say they are already working on updating their vaccines because they need to be extremely specific to offer the best form of protection.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca team, makers of one of the world's most advanced vaccines so far, say they will have their adapted version ready and manufactured before the end of 2021.

Oxford's Professor Andrew Pollard, who is leading studies of the jab, said it would be a 'short process' compared to making the original vaccine from scratch. 

The update could be used either as a booster for people who have already had a different vaccine or it could be used on its own for those who are still unvaccinated.

AstraZeneca's executive vice-president, Sir Mene Pangalos, said today: 'We're very much aiming to have something ready by the autumn this year.'

The announcement comes after the team got a huge boost to their jab development from a study published last night that suggested it can cut transmission by up to two thirds and a single dose can prevent 76 per cent of severe illnesses for three months, with that rising to 82 per cent after the second dose. 

In another ray of hope from Oxford's research, Dr Andrew Pollard — one of the lead Oxford researchers — said he is confident the current jabs will still prevent severe Covid in people who get infected with mutated variants of the virus. 

He admitted the South African strain 'will have a big impact on the immune response from all the vaccines', suggesting the jab may not be as effective in curbing spread. But he says it is possible that it will morph to become like other coronaviruses that just cause a common cold or 'mild' infections.  

Professor Andrew Pollard told a media briefing: 'I think the actual work on designing a new vaccine is very, very quick because it's essentially just switching out the genetic sequence for the spike protein, so for the updated variants.

'Then there's manufacturing to do and then a small-scale study.

'All of that can be completed in a very short period of time, and the autumn is really the timing for having new vaccines available for use rather than for having the clinical trials run.'

Top Government advisers insist the current crop should still work — but may be slightly less effective.

If the immune system has a weaker line of defence against the virus because of this, it raises the risk of people getting reinfected or getting sick despite having been immunised.

Developing new vaccines based on this changed version of the virus should overcome this problem.

Professor Pollard said it was 'very difficult to know' which mutations and variants would pose the biggest problems by the autumn this year.

But he said: 'At this moment, researchers are looking at current variants that are dominating... I suspect that this is going to be an ongoing challenge to follow what the virus is doing.'

The main worrying variants at the moment are B.1.1.7, found in England; B.1.351, which emerged in South Africa; and P.1, from Brazil.

The South African and Brazilian variants both have a mutation called E484K, which changes the spike protein in a way that makes vaccines less effective.

A study in South Africa found that 48 per cent of blood samples from people who had been infected in the past did not show an immune response to viruses with this E484K mutation. One researcher said it was 'clear that we have a problem'. 

And cases of the English Kent variant have also been found with the same mutation, although it is not yet a permanent feature of that strain.

Professor Pollard said earlier today that he expects the E484K mutation and future changes to the virus to reduce how well the current vaccines work.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'That mutation is a really interesting one because it is in a bit of the spike protein that most of us try and make antibodies against, and so it's highly likely that that will have a big impact on the immune response from all the vaccines... 

'I think all developers are looking at updated vaccines at this moment so there will be vaccines that are tested – and that's a relatively short process – in order to make sure that we are prepared if these mutations result in ongoing severe disease.

'But I think there is a bit of hope in that, when we look at studies that have been done of the vaccines from any country in the world, including those with the variants, if they look at severe disease in those studies then we're still seeing very good protection.'

 

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2021-02-04 12:16:00Z
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COVID-19: North Korea - which is officially coronavirus-free - to receive 2m doses of Oxford vaccine - Sky News

North Korea, which has yet to record a single case of coronavirus, is expected to receive nearly two million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

According to the COVAX vaccine-sharing programme, the Asian state has been allocated 1,992,000 doses of the jab for the first half of this year.

The supply will come from the 240 million doses licensed to the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer.

Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world

Image: North Korea's Kim Jong Un has previously hailed his nation's 'shining success'

COVAX, which secures vaccines for poor countries, is co-led by the GAVI alliance, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

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North Korea is one of only a few countries in the world - the majority of which are Pacific Ocean islands - not to have recorded a single case of coronavirus to the WHO.

Turkmenistan is the only other nation possessing a land border with another country to have not recorded a single COVID case.

More from Covid-19

However, doubt has been cast on both North Korea and Turkmenistan's COVID-free claims due to their reputation for heavy state censorship.

North Korea's ruler, Kim Jong Un, sealed its border with China - the country's main benefactor - early last year and has since enforced lockdowns in some regions in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In July, he hailed his nation's "shining success" in dealing with the pandemic and said his country had "prevented the inroad of the malignant virus and maintained a stable situation".

The measures are estimated to have had a devastating impact on its already fragile economy.

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North Korea's ruling principle of self-reliance had previously led to doubts it would participate in global vaccination efforts.

There had even been recent reports it was developing its own COVID vaccine with information hacked from foreign scientists.

It has also been claimed that Kim Jong-un and his family have already been provided with an experimental vaccine by China.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 104 million coronavirus cases across the world, with more than 86 million vaccine doses now having been administered globally.

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2021-02-04 09:19:33Z
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Covid trial in UK examines mixing different vaccines - BBC News

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A UK trial has been launched to see if giving people different Covid vaccines for their first and second doses works as well as the current approach of using the same type of vaccine twice.

The idea is to provide more flexibility with vaccine rollout and help deal with any potential disruption to supplies.

Scientists say mixing jabs could also possibly give even better protection.

The vaccines minister said no changes would be made to the UK's current approach until at least the summer.

Currently, official guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) says anyone already given the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca jab as part of the UK's approved immunisation programme should get the same vaccine for both doses.

In very rare circumstances a different vaccine can be used - if only one vaccine is available, or it's not known which was given for the first dose.

Scientists have good reason to believe the new mixing approach being trialled may prove beneficial - some Ebola immunisation programmes involve mixing different jabs to improve protection, for example.

• New vaccine 'ready by autumn' to tackle mutations
• The vaccines that work - and the others on the way
• How do I know the Covid vaccine is safe?

The Com-Cov study, run by the National Immunisation Schedule Evaluation Consortium, will involve more than 800 volunteers over the age of 50 in England.

Some will receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab followed by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or vice versa - four or 12 weeks apart.

Other vaccines may be added as they are approved by regulators.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said the government's taskforce has given about £7m to fund the study, but that it will not share findings until the summer so "at the moment, we're not changing anything at all".

He told BBC Breakfast that mixing doses is "something that is done historically" with other vaccines such as jabs for hepatitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella.

The chief investigator, Prof Matthew Snape from the University of Oxford, said the "tremendously exciting study" would provide information vital to the rollout of vaccines in the UK and globally.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that animal studies have shown "a better antibody response with a mixed schedule rather than the straight schedule" of vaccine doses.

"It will be really interesting to see if the different delivery methods actually could lead to an enhanced immune response [in humans], or at least a response that's as good as giving the straight schedule of the same doses," he said.

Scientists will monitor volunteers for side-effects and keep a close eye on blood tests to see how well their immune systems respond.

And although the full study will continue for 13 months, the scientists are hopeful of being able to announce some initial findings by this June.

The study will also provide data on:

• The impact of the vaccines on new variants
• The effects of second doses at four and 12 weeks

And scientists say these could inform the type of vaccines some younger adults are offered as their second doses - as the vaccination rolls out to these age groups later in the year.

England's deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, said there were "definitive advantages" to learning whether or not vaccine doses could be mixed, given the "challenges" of the vast number of people needing a jab and potential global supply constraints.

He said combining vaccines could lead to better protection - "giving even higher antibody levels that last longer".

"Unless this is evaluated in a clinical trial, we just won't know," he said.

Any changes to the UK's current strategy would need approval from the JCVI.

The study will be recruiting people aged 50 or older, who have not yet received a Covid vaccine, in these areas:

• London
• Birmingham
• Liverpool
• Nottingham
• Bristol
• Oxford
• Southampton

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More than 10 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, as part of the biggest inoculation programme the country has ever launched.

The government aims to offer first doses to 15 million people - those aged 70 and over, healthcare workers and people required to shield - by 15 February.

Mr Zahawi said after the mid-15 February target has been met, a detailed timeline will be set out for the next set of priority groups, including younger people with underlying health conditions and people aged 50 and over.

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Related Internet Links

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine research studies - NHS.website

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2021-02-04 08:49:00Z
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