RUSHES: Coronavirus: Prime Minister Boris Johnson address to the nation

Coronavirus: Prime Minister Boris Johnson address to the nation; Part 2 of 2 ENGLAND: London: Westminster: Downing Street: INT Boris Johnson MP (Prime Minister) speech SOT - (Continued from Part 1) Of course, there is one huge difference compared to last year. We are now rolling out the biggest vaccination programme in our history. So far, we in the UK have vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined. With the arrival today of the UK’s own Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine, the pace of vaccination is accelerating. I can share with you tonight the NHS’s realistic expectations for the vaccination programme in the coming weeks. By the middle of February, if things go well and with a fair wind in our sails, we expect to have offered the first vaccine dose to everyone in the four top priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. That means vaccinating all residents in a care home for older adults and their carers, everyone over the age of 70, all frontline health and social care workers, and everyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable. If we succeed in vaccinating all those groups, we will have removed huge numbers of people from the path of the virus. And of course, that will eventually enable us to lift many of the restrictions we have endured for so long. I must stress that even if we achieve this goal, there remains a time lag of two to three weeks from getting a jab to receiving immunity. And there will be a further time lag before the pressure on the NHS is lifted. So we should remain cautious about the timetable ahead. But if our understanding of the virus doesn’t change dramatically once again… If the rollout of the vaccine programme continues to be successful… If deaths start to fall as the vaccine takes effect… And, critically, if everyone plays their part by following the rules… Then I hope we can steadily move out of lockdown, reopening schools after the Fe...