Johnson backs UK’s vaccines amid South African variant concerns

Boris Johnson has said he is very confident that all coronavirus vaccines being used in Britain deliver "a high level of protection" amid concerns about the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine's effectiveness against the South African variant of the virus.

South Africa put its rollout of the vaccine on hold after a study of 2,000 people found it offered "minimal protection" against mild disease from the new variant.

At least 147 cases of the South African variant have been found in Britain and the government introduced surge testing in 10 parts of the country in an effort to limit its spread.

“We’re very confident in all the vaccines that we’re using,” Mr Johnson said.

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“It’s important for people to bear in mind that all of them, we think, are effective in delivering a high degree of protection against serious illness and death, which is the most important thing.”

The South African study is the latest blow to the Oxford vaccine, which was approved for use by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) last month, although a number of EU member states have concluded that there is insufficient evidence that it is effective among older people.

Swiss rejection

Switzerland last week rejected an application for the vaccine's approval, saying it needed more data about its safety, efficacy and quality and the US insisted on a new, full-scale clinical trial before it would consider granting authorisation.

Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam told a press conference in Downing Street that “scary” headlines should not deter anyone from getting vaccinated, adding that the South African variant was unlikely to become the dominant strain of coronavirus in Britain in the short term.

“We have small numbers of the South African variant in the UK at the present time. And as I’ve said, I’m not seeing, and the early modelling data do not suggest, a transmissibility advantage for this virus,” he said.

“I don’t think that this is something that we should be concerned about right at this point in time, and I agree with you that the stories and the headlines around variant viruses and vaccines are a bit scary. And I wish they weren’t.”

Eager take-up

Health secretary Matt Hancock said almost one in four adults in Britain had now received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and the country was on course to offer a first dose to everyone over 50 by the end of April. He called on everyone over 70 who had not yet received a vaccination dose to contact the National Health Service and arrange to do so.

“Take-up of the vaccine so far has been significantly better than we hoped for. Based on the work we had done before the vaccination programme started and looking at the surveys, we knew that the UK had one of the most positive attitudes to vaccine uptake, but even so we thought we would get take-up of around 75 per cent,” he said.

“I’m really pleased to be able to tell you that as of midnight last night, among the over-80s, we have now given a first dose to 91 per cent. Among those aged between 75 and 79, it is 95 per cent, and almost three-quarters of those aged between 70 and 74 who were the most recent group to be invited.”