Boris Johnson pledged that there would be no delay in the planned lifting of lockdown restrictions in England due to lack of vaccine supplies in April.
The prime minister spoke after it was revealed an order by regional NHS leaders not to book healthy children under 40 to beat until May.
The prime minister rejected suggestions that halting the immunization program would force him to slow down the “road map” for lifting restrictions, which is expected to be completed on June 21.
At a press conference at 10 Downing Street, he said: “There is no change in the next steps of the roadmap …
Our progress on the path to freedom continues unchecked. We’re on the right track to picking up the things we love, seeing our families and friends again, returning to local bars, gyms, sports facilities and of course our stores.
Johnson insisted that the unexpected delay did not break the “four tests” he had set to relax the restrictions, which include the smooth running of the vaccination campaign.
The prime minister said vaccine supplies would decrease next month due to delays in the delivery of the Oxford / AstraZeneca product from the India Serum Institute, as well as the need to retest 1.7 million doses in the UK.
But he said that in any vaccination campaign of this size, “some interruptions in supplies will inevitably occur.” He said that while the UK will have fewer vaccine doses available in April than this month, there will still be more from February.
Johnson said the UK is still on track to vaccinate all people over the age of 50 and other priority groups by April 15 and all adults by the end of July.
The prime minister was challenged on whether he risked failing to successfully test the continued deployment of the vaccine, a condition for moving forward with lifting the lockdown.
He replied, “No, it is the short answer to that.
“We will be able to achieve our goals exactly as you described them by July. That is the crucial thing.
“This will allow us to follow the steps of the schedule that we set – April 12, May 17, June 21. We will continue with all unlocks that you set, if the four tests are still met.”
According to Mr Johnson’s roadmap, non-essential stores, outdoor bars and restaurants can reopen from April 12 at the earliest, indoor entertainment and hospitality will resume from May 17 and most social distancing restrictions will be lifted from June 21.
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