Latest updates: prime minister admits infections are high but says ‘we are within the parameters of what the predictions were’
- ‘Covid is still around’: why Leicester shoppers are still wearing masks
- England: minister denies there is ‘plan C’ to ban Christmas mixing
- Tory MPs appear to heed Javid call to set example by wearing masks
- Who can get a Covid booster jab in England?
- Global Covid updates – live
Jeremy Hunt made his comments earlier (see 11.12am) during a Commons urgent question on Covid. During the exchanges Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said the government should be aiming to get booster vaccinations up to 500,000 a day. He told MPs:
On current trends we won’t complete boosters until March 2022. Instead of doing just 165,000 booster jabs a day, why not set a commitment to do 500,000 jabs a day and get this programme completed by Christmas, mobilising pop-up clinics and making better use of community pharmacies?
The third dose for immuno-compromised has been described as chaotic by charities. Why not allow them to use walk-in centres?
Historically, around 5% of school is missed due to absence during the spring term, but in spring this year 57.5% of sessions (half a day) were recorded as missed due to circumstances relating to coronavirus.
This represents 219m school days, according to Department for Education (DfE) data out today.
Continue reading…
