Covid: UK hits 40 million first vaccine doses, but expert warns full reopening on 21 June is ‘major risk’

Jab campaign raises hopes for end of pandemic but expert warns that pushing ahead with full reopening 21 June would be ‘foolish’ given rise of Delta variant

More than 40 million people in the UK have now received their first does of a coronavirus vaccine, according to official figures, as hopes were raised that the jab campaign had “broken the chain” between infection and serious illness.

Matt Hancock, the healthy secretary, said reaching the milestone in less than six months was an “astonishing achievement”, with more than three-quarters of adults receiving their first dose and more than half receiving the full two doses.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that ministers were planning to begin vaccination of children aged between 12 and 15 in the second half of August. The Pfizer jab was recently approved for use in that age group.

The 40 million milestone was reached amid mounting concern about the removal of all lockdown restrictions on 21 June given the surge in the number of cases over the past week to levels last seen in March.

Professor Stephen Reicher, who sits on the SPI-B committee advising the government, said that the rise of the Delta variant in the UK meant that the government’s own criteria for reopening had not yet been met.

“It's quite clear that it would be foolish to proceed on the data that we've got at the moment,” he said. “And of course it's a balance of risks but I think it would be a major risk to go further in opening up.”

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest the number of coronavirus infections in the community has almost doubled in a week, with the R value increasing slightly to between 1 and 1.2.

Ministers are now reportedly considering delaying so-called “freedom day” by a fortnight to 5 July and retaining some measures such as social distancing measures, face coverings and guidance telling people to continue working from home.

With a final decision due to be announced on 14 June, a new poll for The Independent has revealed mounting public anxiety about Boris Johnson’s plan for full reopening. A majority of people said they were worried about scrapping the “1m-plus” rule, face coverings and the return of nightclubs, concerts and stadium events.

However, the number of hospital patients with Covid-19 was not increasing “very significantly”, according to NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson. He said that most of those many of those in hospital in Bolton – which has the highest number of cases of the Delta variant first detected in India – were a lot younger than in previous waves and less at risk of death.

“What we think we can start to say now, based on that experience, is that it does look as though the vaccines have broken the chain between catching Covid-19 and potentially being very, very seriously ill and potentially dying,” he added.

A UK government spokesperson said no decision had yet been made on whether to ease all coronavirus restrictions on 21 June, adding: “As the prime minister has set out, we can see nothing in the data at the moment to suggest that we need to deviate from the roadmap. We continue to look at the data and the latest scientific evidence.”

Additional reporting by Press Association