Matt Hancock to lead Downing Street Covid press conference on Monday

AP
Daniel O'Mahony8 February 2021

Health Secretary Matt Hancock will host a coronavirus press briefing at Downing Street on Monday afternoon, Number 10 has confirmed.

It comes as ministers try to reassure the public of the efficacy of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, after South Africa paused its rollout of the jab over concerns about its ability to combat a new strain of Covid-19.

A study of around 2,000 people has shown the jab only offers minimal protection against mild disease of the South Africa variant and, due to the young age of participants, could not conclude whether the jab worked against severe disease.

Junior health minister Edward Argar said on Monday that Oxford researchers remained confident their vaccine could prevent severe disease for those affected by the variant and that booster jabs to tackle new strains are already in the pipeline.

Some 147 cases of the South African variant have so far been identified in the UK, with experts warning these are likely to be the “tip of the iceberg” due to the fact they are the result of random checks on 5 per cent to 10 per cent of all positive tests.

Mr Hancock is expected to provide an update on the UK’s vaccine rollout, kicking off a critical week for the Government’s target of offering a jab to almost 14 million people by February 15.

Additional reporting by PA

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