Hancock says ‘no rest for the wicked’ as Covid vaccine roll out moves to next phase

Over 65-year-olds invited for jab while second doses for earliest recipients will be offered soon

There is “no rest for the wicked”, Matt Hancock has said as he vowed to press ahead with the next phase of the UK’s Covid-19 vaccination programme.

The health secretary conceded there remains “a huge amount of work to do” after the government announced it had reached its target of offering everyone in the top four risk groups their first jab by 15 February.

Figures published on Sunday showed 15,062,189 people across the UK have received their first vaccine dose since the programme was first rolled out in December.

Boris Johnson described the achievement as an "extraordinary feat" that had taken "a truly national effort".

The prime minister said England had hit its target of offering an injection to everyone in the top four priority groups over the weekend, while the Welsh government said it had met that target on Friday.

With frontline healthcare workers and the most vulnerable receiving their first jab, the vaccine programme will now be expanded to the over-65s and younger people in at-risk categories.

"We are straight on to the next groups, so the letters have already been sent to over a million over 65-year-olds asking them to come forward, and also the next group after that is those who have underlying health conditions and are carers," Mr Hancock told Sky News on Monday morning.

"There is a huge programme underway rolling out to invite the next group of people to be vaccinated and, at the same time, from next month we have the second jabs of all the people who have come since January to make sure they happen on time because they have to be within a specific 12-week time period."

Although the UK's vaccine rate is the third fastest in the world, behind only Israel and the United Arab Emirates, there have been some reports of vulnerable and housebound people in their 80s and 90s not being reached.

There are also concerns over vaccine uptake in black and ethnic minority communities.

And in an interview with BBC Breakfast later on Monday morning, Mr Hancock insisted there is "some way to go" before lockdown can be eased, with hospitals in some parts of the country still under significant pressure.

His comments come as ministers this week begin a review of England's Covid restrictions ahead of a speech by the PM next week, where he is set to outline a "roadmap" out of lockdown.

Mr Johnson is under increasing pressure from some of his own MPs in the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) who have called for all restrictions to be lifted by the end of April.

In a letter to Mr Johnson, CRG leaders said the "tremendous pace" of the vaccination rollout meant restrictions should begin easing from early March.

They said ministers must produce a cost-benefit analysis to justify any controls that remain in place after that date, with a "roadmap" stating when they would be removed.

The letter was organised by the CRG chair and deputy chair, Mark Harper and Steve Baker, and was said to have the backing of 63 Conservative MPs in all.

However, scientists advising the government are warning that lifting restrictions too quickly risks another wave of the disease as big as the current one.

Mr Johnson has so far said his priority is to reopen schools by 8 March. The PM has stayed tight-lipped on what restrictions might be eased, saying he is "optimistic" about the months ahead.