Covid-19 Update

Debate between Adam Afriyie and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 2nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Because people in their 60s are more likely to die from covid than people who are younger.

[Adam Afriyie (Windsor) (Con)]

Our world-leading vaccines programme will mean that deaths and hospitalisations for serious ill health will fall massively—probably to normal levels by around 8 March, when the top four priority groups will have been vaccinated. I am glad to hear the Secretary of State confirm that our top priority must be to open schools first and then move on, because parents are desperate to have schools opened, teachers want schools opened, businesses want schools opened and—God bless them—even our children are desperate to have schools opened. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that schools will be the first to reopen on or before 8 March?

[Matt Hancock]

I can confirm what the Prime Minister has set out: schools will be the first in the queue for reopening. We will consider the data in the middle of this month, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will set out a statement after that, and we will give two weeks’ notice. Schools will not open before 8 March, and of course we will look at the data, as I set out in a previous answer.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Adam Afriyie and Matt Hancock

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The new variant of this virus makes it very difficult to control, which is why it is so important that everybody follows those public health messages. That is the challenge we are all dealing with, together, and we just have to remember that we are all on the same side in that great battle. Help is on its way, in the testing for schools, in the measures that my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary is shortly to announce and in the vaccine, which will help to protect those who are most vulnerable. Once we have got through all the clinical prioritisation, we can then move on, in general, to the under-50s. Their risk of death from covid is, thankfully, low but it is highly likely that they will still want to have a vaccine to protect themselves from this disease.

[Adam Afriyie (Windsor) (Con)]

First, I wish to commend the Secretary of State for making it clear that the vaccine will be available to all over-65s—by the end of February, we hope—as that is really important. This should be a joyous day. We have been given the gift of a free trade agreement with the EU by our Prime Minister and the gift of a new vaccine—we also have a new vaccines Minister—by our scientists and world-leading Government objectives. But the gift people really want this Christmas is to know that their jobs, livelihoods and civil liberties will be given back to them as soon as possible, so will the Secretary of State make this clear today by telling us at what point on the priority list of vaccinations he will allow restrictions to be lifted?

[Matt Hancock]

We have to remember that the vaccine is a great symbol of hope, but it is a means to an end, and the end is the lifting of restrictions and the restoration of our liberties and the freedom for us to act as we please. That is the goal of this programme: to make people safe so that we can get life back to normal and, of course, protect the NHS. On the timing, it is absolutely right, as I said in my response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), that the speed of roll-out can be accelerated because of the decisions announced this morning. The precise timing of that has to be determined by the manufacture, because although we can forecast that, we cannot know exactly how much will be delivered. On the question of how far down the priority list we need to go before people are safe, we will observe that as we observe the reduction—I hope—in transmission that we get, as well as the protection of individuals. So we will keep this under review, but the good news is that I am highly confident that by the spring we will be through this. It was not possible before the approval of this vaccine to say that.