'Wrong' to change priority list for coronavirus vaccine, minister says

The minister in charge of the roll out of the coronavirus vaccine has said it would be “wrong” to change the priority list for who gets the jab first.

Speaking in the Commons today, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said “our nation is getting safer every day” thanks to the success of the UK’s vaccination programme.

Mr Zahawi told the Commons: “I am pleased to inform the House that we have now vaccinated almost nine in 10 over-80s in the UK, almost nine in 10 over-75s, and over half of people in their 70s.

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“We’ve also visited every eligible care home possible with older residents in England and have offered vaccinations to all their residents and staff.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Covid-19 vaccine deployment Nadhim Zahawi. Photo: PAParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Covid-19 vaccine deployment Nadhim Zahawi. Photo: PA
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Covid-19 vaccine deployment Nadhim Zahawi. Photo: PA

“This means we are currently on track to meet our target of offering a vaccine to the four most vulnerable groups by mid-February.”

But he faced calls from Labour to include key workers in the first phase of the roll out, once the top four priority groups had been reached.

Labour’s shadow health minister Alex Norris said: “As we move on categories five to nine it is reasonable to ask the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) about including key workers. Data shows that those who work closely with others who are regularly exposed to Covid-19 have higher death rates than the rest of the population.

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“By prioritising these workers alongside the over-50s and over-60s and people with underlying health conditions, we can reduce transmission further, protect more people and keep the vital services that they are providing running smoothly, including the reopening of schools.”

And it comes after Leeds North East Labour MP Fabian Hamilton wrote to the UK chief executives of Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi and Lidl this week calling for supermarket staff to be better protected during the pandemic.

In his letter, Mr Hamilton said: “Nobody should face abuse or aggression at work and I would thus urge you to commit to putting security on every store in order to protect staff and customers alike.”

And he added: “I’m sure you’ll agree with me that supermarket staff have performed admirably to keep our country going throughout this crisis. They have continued to go to work everyday, putting themselves and their families at risk, while many of us stay safe at home. Without their work, we would all be in an extremely perilous state.”

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Labour has called for supermarket workers along with other key workers such as teachers to be bumped up the priority list.

But Mr Zahawi said: “In terms of the priority list, the JCVI looked very closely at both BAME and of course other considerations, including profession, and came down very clearly on the side of age as the deciding factor in terms of people’s risk of dying from Covid. This is a race against death, hence why we’ve got the nine categories which we are going through and we will continue to do so.”

He added: “I certainly think it would be wrong to change the JCVI recommendation because one to nine is 99 per cent of mortality. I think when we get into phase two then we would welcome a debate and of course ask the question of the JCVI as to whether professions like teachers, like shop workers, like police officers, who though their work will come into contact with much greater volumes of the virus than others do, and they will then advise us accordingly.”

It is understood that after the first phase of the programme, the JCVI is considering delaying jabs for younger people who have already had the virus and therefore may have the antibodies.

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Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby Robert Goodwill said he suggested such a move, which is happening in Israel, on a call with Mr Zahawi.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, he said: “As the PM said himself, he is bursting with antibodies. When we have completed the vaccination of the nine vulnerable groups, we should prioritise people who have not tested positive, so recovered Covid patients should be deprioritised.”

He said he felt that way, more people who needed the jab could be reached more quickly.