Politics
Matt Hancock speech: What did the Health Secretary say in his coronavirus announcement on Wednesday, March 17?
MATT HANCOCK provided the public with the latest update in a press conference at No10 on Wednesday, March 17.
The Health Secretary has slammed false attacks on the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine as France and Italy admitted to temporarily halting the jab rollout for political reasons.
Matt Hancock will present the press conference from Downing St at 5pm[/caption]
What time was Matt Hancock’s announcement today?
Hancock spoke to the nation at 5pm on Wednesday, March 17.
He was joined by Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van Tam and Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation.
It was held at No.10 Downing Street.
A NHS staff member administers the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to a woman at the London Islamic Cultural Society and Mosque in Haringey, North London[/caption]
What did Matt Hancock say?
The Health Secretary opened by revealing that over 25 million people in the UK – nearly half of the adult population – have received their first vaccine.
Hancock revealed a graph that explained the percentage of people that have the antibodies to fight coronavirus, with around 90% of people over 70 having them as of March 3.
He added that just by getting the first jab of either vaccine, the chances of protection from getting Covid is around 60% while the chances of protection against dying from the virus is at about 85%.
Due to the speed of the rollout, Mr Hancock revealed everyone over the age of 50 will be contacted in the coming days about a vaccine – while they can also sign up on the NHS website or call 119.
The Health Secretary also added that the UK remains on target to give the first jab to priority groups from 1 to 9 by April 15.
Meanwhile, those in vulnerable groups are being invited to come forward if they are yet to have their first dose.
Mr Hancock also confirmed that shielding will be ending on March 31.
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Meanwhile, Professor Van-Tam revealed that the European Medicines Agency had released a statement saying that the AstraZeneca vaccine does not cause any conditions such as blood clots.
The regulator added that the positives of the vaccine far outweigh the side effects.
Van-Tam said that research into whether blood clots are caused by the vaccine has so far revealed that there is no evidence of increased risk.
