Boris Johnson vows lifting lockdown won’t be ‘open sesame moment’ after February 15 & will come ‘gradually’

BORIS Johnson has vowed lifting lockdown won't be a "great bang moment" after February 15 and it will only be a "gradual" reopening of the country.

The PM said ministers won't "take stock" of the restrictions until the 13 million most vulnerable Brits have been given a vaccine.

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Mr Johnson said today: "We are going as fast as we can, we will do everything we can, obviously, to open up.

"But when we come to February 15, that's the moment we have to take stock, that's the time to look at where the virus is."

The PM added: "It's only really then that we can talk about what steps we can take to relax."

But he cautious Brits to temper their optimism, saying: "I'm afraid we've got to warn people it will be gradual.

"You can't just open up in a great open sesame, a great bang."

In a sign of hope for meeting the February 15 deadline, Mr Johnson revealed 4 million Brits had had the jab - including 50 per cent of over 80-year-olds and care home residents.

Earlier today, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said lockdown could begin to be eased from early March, once all of the most-vulnerable people have some level of protection fro a vaccine.

It follows the hopeful news that people over 70 will begin getting a vaccine this week.

It comes as:

• Four million Brits have had a vaccine - including half of over 80-year-olds and care home resident
• Five million over 70s are set to start getting vaccines this week
• 24 hour vaccination clinics will begin being trialled in London
• A shocking new study showed one in eight Covid patients die within 140 days of recovery
• Police officers, teachers, supermarket staff and other key workers could be next in line for the jab
• Matt Hancock will give a press conference at 5pm

Mr Zahawi said today the Government was on track to meet the mid-February target to vaccinate 13 million of the most vulnerable Brits and lockdown could start to be eased a few weeks after that.

He told BBC Breakfast: "If we take the mid-February target, two weeks after that you get you your protection, pretty much, for the Pfizer/BionTech, three weeks for the Oxford AstraZeneca, you are protected.

"That's 88 per cent of mortality that we can then make sure are people who are protected."

The would mean lockdown could start to be relaxed in early March.

The number of people who have received a first dose of the vaccine has already hit 3,857,266 - more than the total number of people who have contract the virus since March.

But the vaccine minister warned there were a "number of caveats" that stand "in the way of reopening" the country.

One game changer in Britain's fight against coronavirus will be if the vaccine helps stop people spreading coronavirus - but it could be months until scientists can determine its impact on transmission.

"One of the things we don't know yet... is the impact of the vaccine on transmission rates ie on infecting people - that will become apparent," Mr Zahawi said.

The rules will not be lifted all at once, and it is likely the tiered system will be used to keep infection rates down.

"It will be gradually, it will be probably through the tiered system but you're looking at that sort of period, two to three weeks after the middle of February, after we've protected the top four cohorts."

The first thing to reopen will be schools - the PM's top priority.

"We begin to gradually reopen and schools will be a priority - the Prime Minister ... was desperate to keep them open and as a last resort we had to close them (and) he wants them first back," Mr Zahawi said.

But people have continued to break the lockdown rules, and Home Secretary Priti Patel has said police will take stronger action against rule-breakers.

But there won't be any further restrictions brought in, she said.

"No, the focus has to be on compliance and enforcement of the regulations and the rules as they stand," Ms Patel said.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey admitted there were some problems rolling the vaccine out to people in her Suffolk Coastal constituency.

She said the news that Brits over the age of 70 would get a vaccine was "distressing and annoying" so some of her constituents, over. the age of 80, who had not yet received the jab.

"Something is not quite working right yet though, particularly in one part of the constituency, as I am hearing from people in part of the area that 80+ and 90+ year olds have not been contacted while some 70+ patients in the same GP practice were invited for vaccination," Ms Coffey wrote on Facebook.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Zahawi said 24 hour vaccination clinics would also start to be trialled in London within the "next 10 days" to try and get every adult in the UK a jab by the end of September.

Mr Zahawi also said this morning that police officers, teachers, supermarket staff and other key workers could also be next in line to get a jab.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed over the weekend that over 50 per cent of over 80s had received their first jab.

"You can only leave your home for a limited number of reasons and police are enforcing that rigidly, stringently across the country."

And Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said yesterday, a phased end to lockdown could be considered from March if 88 per cent of the most vulnerable groups are vaccinated by mid-February.

Mr Raab said: "If we have succeeded in hitting those targets... we can start to think about the phase.

"I think it's fair to say it won't be a big bang.

"It will be done phased, possibly back through the tiered approach that we had before."