Sources say PM's focus on Cop26 climate summit is to blame for faltering Covid ...

Sources say PM's focus on Cop26 climate summit is to blame for faltering Covid ...
Sources say PM's focus on Cop26 climate summit is to blame for faltering Covid ...

Ministers are ripping up the booking system for Covid booster jabs with millions set to receive their vaccines a month early amid growing fears the faltering programme risks triggering a winter spike – and another dreaded lockdown.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has ordered NHS chiefs to allow over-50s to book their third jab a month earlier than at present in a bid to turbocharge the sluggish rollout of boosters to combat Covid.

It comes as Javid is also planning to enforce laws to make Covid vaccines mandatory for all NHS workers, making them a 'condition of employment' as soon as possible. 

He believes it will help protect vulnerable patients from contracting the virus in hospitals but there are fears it could spark a backlash among vaccine hesitant staff or civil rights groups.  

People are eligible for the booster six months after their second jab. But as it stands, patients cannot even start the booking process until that date, and then must wait an average of 18 days to get their appointment.

The delay is believed to be a key reason why only around 4.5 million out of the 9.3 million eligible people in England have so far received the third dose.

The new plan, which Government sources say will be put into effect as soon as possible, will allow people to book in advance so they can get it as soon as the first day they are eligible.

Downing Street advisers have also examined whether the six-month period should be shortened, but concluded the period is still the ‘sweet spot’ which maximises the boost to immunity levels.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has ordered NHS chiefs to allow over-50s to book their third jab a month earlier than at present in a bid to turbocharge the sluggish rollout of boosters to combat Covid

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has ordered NHS chiefs to allow over-50s to book their third jab a month earlier than at present in a bid to turbocharge the sluggish rollout of boosters to combat Covid

Margaret Keenan, the first person to receive the coronavirus vaccine in December last year, receives her booster jab at University Hospital Coventry in Warwickshire on September 24

Margaret Keenan, the first person to receive the coronavirus vaccine in December last year, receives her booster jab at University Hospital Coventry in Warwickshire on September 24

The development comes amid signs of growing tensions in Whitehall over the slow take-up of boosters and jabs for 12- to 15-year-olds which has coincided with a sharp rise in infections and hospitalisations.

One source claimed Boris Johnson had ‘taken his eye off the ball’ because No 10’s energies had been consumed by preparations for the forthcoming COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

An analysis by The Mail on Sunday found if the current rate of vaccinations for those aged 12 to 15 is not accelerated, then barely one-third of the age group will have received a jab by the start of December.

The slow progress has led to calls for Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi to write directly to pupils to urge them to have the vaccine. But the move is opposed by other Cabinet Ministers who believe it is wrong to bypass parents.

In other developments: 

A total of 44,985 new coronavirus infections were recorded yesterday, a rise of 15.2 per cent on last week’s figure, with deaths up by 12 per cent week-on-week to 135 and hospital admissions up 19 per cent; Officials discussed the introduction of ‘lockdown lite’ if cases continue to rise, which would involve more working from home and mask wearing, but stop short of another shutdown of the economy; Former Health Minister David Mellor compares anti-vaxxers to ‘someone running along a street stabbing passers-by at random’ in an article in today’s Mail on Sunday; Government sources admitted it had been a ‘mistake’ to replace Mr Zahawi as Vaccines Minister with low-profile Maggie Throup;  The boss of Pimlico Plumbers likened the impact on children of parents working from home to idling on the dole, saying: ‘You’ve got to break the cycle otherwise it’s like when parents are on benefits and capable of going to work, and the kids say, “I’ll do that too”; Union bosses were accused of scaremongering after warning No 10 it risks another ‘winter of chaos’ unless it imposes its Covid Plan B, which would see more draconian measures imposed to combat the virus. 

'Get a booster jab to save Christmas', says NHS's most senior doctor

The most senior doctor in the NHS has called on Britons to take up the offer of booster jabs to 'help save Christmas'. 

NHS England's national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said getting a booster will 'protect the freedom and Christmas that we have all earned'.

The repeated calls for people to get jabbed comes as Mr Johnson resists pleas from health leaders for tighter restrictions despite the rising number of cases.

Prof Powis, who said this week that the NHS feels 'exceptionally busy', has written in the Sunday Telegraph that it will 'no doubt be a tough winter'.

He wrote: 'To maximise the impact of the vaccination programme we must all continue to act responsibly.

'The more of us that come forward for our booster jab, and the more we keep our resolve in helping to limit the spread of infection, then the greater chance we all have of staying well.'

Prof Powis said this time last year there were more than 6,800 people in hospital with Covid, and this weekend the figure is 6,405, but in 2020 the nation was still six weeks away from the world's first vaccination.

'So, when your time comes, take up the offer, book your booster and protect the freedom and Christmas that we have all earned and deserve to enjoy,' he said.

 

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MPs say they have been bombarded with complaints from constituents about the glacial pace of the booster jab rollout.

The booster jabs are intended to deal with waning immunity among groups which first received the vaccines at the start of the year – but the number administered each day has been a fraction of the rate during the initial programme.

The jabs will not be rolled out to the under-50s until a greater proportion of the older age group have been jabbed, which at the current rate is expected to be in early 2022. 

Mr Johnson responded to the criticism this weekend by asking Emily Lawson, the head of the No 10 Delivery Unit, to return to her old job running England’s vaccine programme. 

The effort has also been stymied by Mr Zahawi’s move to Education Secretary, Sir Simon Stevens’ departure as head of the NHS and Matt Hancock’s resignation as Health Secretary over his breach of social distancing rules with an aide.

Mr Javid has warned the number of new cases could peak at 100,000 a day this winter, prompting fears of another lockdown – although Mr Johnson insisted that was ‘not on the cards at all’. Chancellor Rishi Sunak also said that the country could not return to ‘significant economic restrictions’.

Professor Peter Openshaw, a Government scientific adviser, said yesterday that he was ‘very fearful’ there will be another ‘lockdown Christmas’. 

However, modelling by experts on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies indicated it was ‘highly unlikely’ the NHS would be overwhelmed by the virus, as a combination of vaccine-acquired and natural immunity means fewer people would need hospital treatment than in the early weeks of the pandemic last year.

It comes as Javid pushes for the remainder of NHS staff to get double jabbed, with 106,351 still not vaccinated, about 7 per cent of the total workforce. 

Education Minister will send teenagers 'please get the vaccine' letter as four out of five 12-15 year olds remain unjabbed - despite experts claiming the cohort holds the power to stop the virus spreading 

By Anna Mikhailova and Stephen Adams for the Mail on Sunday

Ministers are considering writing to every 12 to 15-year-old in the country to urge them to get their Covid vaccine.

The letter would be signed by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi in a bid to improve the slow jab rollout in schools.

So far only 19.8 per cent of that age group has been jabbed.

However, the move has sparked a row within Government over whether writing to children directly would be appropriate. 

The letter would be signed by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi in a bid to improve the slow jab rollout in schools

The letter would be signed by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi in a bid to improve the slow jab rollout in schools

Whitehall officials have raised concerns that the move would risk undermining parental consent.

Since the rollout was extended to all 12- to 15-year-olds more than a month ago, MPs have warned that parents must be given a final say in whether their child should be vaccinated. 

Schools normally send forms to parents seeking permission for pupils to receive a jab.

Government starts preparations for Plan B Covid restrictions

The government is preparing to roll back on Covid freedoms according to a leaked Whitehall document, with a return to face masks and Covid passports to stop a winter virus surge.

An urgent document detailing the Plan B measures was distributed on Friday from the UK Health Security Agency to town hall leaders.

The Official Sensitive email, seen by The Sun, asked if there was backing for an 'immediate enforcement of the new rules.   

An official wrote: 'I have been asked to canvas opinion on the level of support for immediate roll out of the Winter Plan - Plan B.'

It lists a number of measures including vaccine passports in clubs and indoor and outdoor spaces.

There would also be legal requirements for face masks and a return to working from home. 

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However, children also have a say and in some cases can override their parents, although the Government has insisted this would only apply ‘very rarely’.

It comes as analysis for The Mail on Sunday shows only a third of 12- to 15-year-olds will be jabbed by December if the rollout continues at the current pace.

Just 564,518 out of 2.8 million 12- to 15-year-olds in England had been vaccinated by last Friday – compared with nearly two thirds of 16- to 18-year-olds.

The jab rollout has averaged just 12,100 of such children a day in the past month.

Failing to significantly speed up kids’ jabs could leave the majority of children in that age group unprotected by Christmas because the vaccine takes 14 days to take full effect.

Last week, the Prime Minister held a meeting with Mr Zahawi, Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Chief of Staff Dan Rosenfield about how to speed up the rollout.

NHS bosses are also scrambling to use half term to vaccinate as many children as possible, with England’s top GP, Dr Nikki Kanani – medical director of primary care for NHS England – making a plea to parents to book their children in by revealing her 13-year-old has received the jab.

Some 2.5 million NHS letters – covering almost the entire age cohort of 12- to 15-year-olds in England – are being sent out from tomorrow to parents and guardians in a blitz aimed at increasing uptake.

It comes after the NHS’s national booking service for Covid jabs opened up for 12- to 15-year-olds.

Dr Kanani, who is also deputy lead for the Covid vaccination programme, said: ‘Millions of parents will be receiving letters from tomorrow inviting their children to get a Covid vaccine through the National Booking Service.

‘This provides an additional way for 12- to 15-year-olds to get their vaccine following the rollout in schools that has seen more than a half million vaccinated.’

She added: ‘The decision to get vaccinated has always been a private choice between a child and their parent or guardian – my 13-year-old son received his vaccine at school on the same day I had my booster dose in a local pharmacy.

‘I would urge families to look at the information together and then book in to give children and their loved ones crucial protection ahead of winter.’ Parents whose children have had the jab will also receive the letter, as it is part of a mass mailing. The NHS says to ignore it.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi visit the Westbury-on-Trym Church of England Academy in Bristol

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi visit the Westbury-on-Trym Church of England Academy in Bristol

The sluggish nature of the campaign contrasts sharply with the situation in Scotland.

When the decision to vaccinate 12- to 15-year-olds was made on September 20, rates were similar in both countries – with 5.7 per cent of that age group jabbed in England, and 5.4 per cent in Scotland.

These youngsters had already been vaccinated because they are clinically vulnerable, or live with someone who is, meaning they fall into a higher priority group.

But in the month since then, Scotland has stormed ahead, having jabbed more than 50 per cent of its 12- to 15-year-olds – a vaccination rate of 3,640 children a day.

Over the same period, England has only managed to shift the dial to just under 20 per cent.

The contrasting campaigns may have contributed to the divergence in Covid case rates in under-15s since early September, when they stood at about 400 a week per 100,000 in both England and Scotland. In England, they have since shot up to more than 800 per 100,000, while in Scotland they have dropped to below 200.

Experts are worried that higher Covid case rates are starting to spill over into older age groups as children bring the virus home to parents and grandparents.

They believe that vaccinating secondary-school pupils is key to controlling the virus this winter, as Covid rates are currently at their highest in teenagers.

A recent modelling study calculated that jabbing all 12- to 15-year-olds could prevent tens of thousands of hospital admissions, mainly of older people, saving thousands of lives. If most of this age group remains unvaccinated, however, these benefits will not materialise.

'Very quiet, comforting, non-political figure': Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup keeps a very low profile as fans sing her praises as someone widely liked with a reputation for 'getting on with the job'

By Brendan Carlin for the Mail on Sunday

An ally of Ms Throup said she had been a ‘grandma figure’ in the Whips’ Office, and was deployed to comfort unhappy MPs – skills which will be useful if complaints about the slow booster rollout continue to come in

An ally of Ms Throup said she had been a ‘grandma figure’ in the Whips’ Office, and was deployed to comfort unhappy MPs – skills which will be useful if complaints about the slow booster rollout continue to come in

Tory MPs have vented their frustration at Boris Johnson’s decision to replace high-profile former Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi with little-known MP Maggie Throup.

They said it was ‘a mystery’ as to why the Prime Minister had picked the former Whip for the key role.

One senior Tory MP said: ‘This is causing major concerns.

‘Let’s face it – Nadhim had a touch of showbusiness about him. You just can’t say that about Maggie.’

However, other MPs privately blame Chief Whip Mark Spencer for promoting Ms Throup from the Tory Whips Office.

A former Minister told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I don’t think Boris would have had a clue who she was. The idea of promoting her must have come from the Chief Whip.’

Other MPs have sprung to Ms Throup’s defence, saying she was widely liked and had a reputation for ‘getting on with the job’. 

That diligence led one colleague to dub her ‘Super Throuper’.

Her science background is also expected to help her in the new job – Ms Throup, 64,

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