Coronavirus Vaccine

Debate between Fleur Anderson and Matt Hancock

Wednesday 2nd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. I have good news for the people of Workington and the whole country, which is that suppressing the virus using these restrictions until a vaccine came along has been the strategy all along, and we can just start to see the light at the end of the tunnel getting much brighter because we know we now have a vaccine.

[Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)]

I also welcome this news and thank all the scientists involved in this great breakthrough. When it is my turn to have the vaccine, I will have absolutely no hesitation in doing so. When it comes to turns, can the Secretary of State confirm that community workers—care workers who work in the community going from home to home—will be part of the first assessment of clinical need? Then, after clinical need, will educational need be a factor in keeping our schools open? A school in Southfields has been closed for the last two weeks for lack of teachers being able to teach, so as a next phase, will educational need be a consideration for the roll-out of the vaccine?

[Matt Hancock]

Once we have got through the clinical priority, of course there is a debate to be had about the order of priority after that. Between now and then, if we can get the repeat testing of contacts up and running and working across the board, I hope that that will be effective in ensuring that fewer teachers have to isolate because they are contacts as opposed to positive cases.