The UK’s R (reproduction) number has risen as the country’s medical regulators have approved a new vaccine for use.
An additional 10 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine have been ordered by the government after it was said to meet the strict safety and quality standards.
It comes as the Office for National Statistics estimates that almost one in 50 people had the virus during the week to January 2.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has said the coronavirus reproduction number has risen to between 1 and 1.4 up from its December figure of 1.1 and 1.3.
The figure being above 1 means outbreaks will grow exponentially.
The Moderna vaccine has been found to be 94% effective in preventing disease and the additional order will mean the UK will have a total of 17 million doses which it hopes will be available by Spring.
In total, the UK has secured early access to 367 million doses of seven of the “most promising” vaccines so far.
Health secretary Matt Hancock.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said the approval was “great news”.
“We have already vaccinated nearly 1.5 million people across the UK and Moderna’s vaccine will allow us to accelerate our vaccination programme even further once doses become available from the spring,” he said.
“While we immunise those most at risk from COVID, I urge everyone to continue following the rules to keep cases low to protect our loved ones.”
Nearly 1.5 million people in the UK have already been vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccines.
Vaccines are being deployed through a number of methods including:
hospital hubs for NHS and care staff and older patients to get vaccinated;
local community services with local teams and GPs already signing up to take part in the programme;
vaccination centres across the country, ensuring people can access a vaccine regardless of where they live.
Hospitals are currently under huge amounts of strain due to the virus, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan today declaring a “major incident” as the infection rate in the capital exceeds 1,000 per 100,000 people.
Andrew Morgan, Chief Executive at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. | Photo: ULHT
United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust Chief Executive Andrew Morgan confirmed that the occupancy figure at Boston and Lincoln hospitals was around 90%, with about 9% of the workforce currently off sick.
The Lincoln hospital site was forced to declare a major incident earlier this week.
Local health bosses are still calling for more vaccination sites to be rolled out across the county in order to provide better protection.
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Marc Jones, the re-elected Conservative Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said that his work is not done, as he’s looking forward to a further three years in the role.
Mr Jones won with a 57.9% majority of the poll from the first round of counting, with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout. A total of 177,528 votes were placed county-wide.
The nearest candidate was Labour’s Rosanne Kirk, with a 19% share of the votes, with Lincolnshire Independent David Williams securing the third spot with 10%.
The breakdown of the votes cast on Thursday, May 6, and counted on Saturday, may 8, was:
Marc Jones (Conservative) – 102,813
Rosanne Kirk (Labour) – 34,310
David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) – 18,375
Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) – 10,172
Peter Escreet (Reform UK) – 6,101
Marc Jones: “More work to do”
“It’s very gratifying to have concluded today on the first count, that was a really positive thing for what I’ve delivered so far,” said Mr Jones.
“But I’m under no illusions having spoken to many around the county there’s an awful lot more work to do.”
He said he wanted to assure the public that “nothing was taken for granted”.
Rosie Kirk – Labour – 2nd place
Labour’s candidate Rosie Kirk said she was “thrilled for her party” across all three elections that had taken place in Lincolnshire this week.
“The votes that we got was incredible. Our message got through and to actually come second in a Conservative county is really great,” she said.
However, she added that there were “lots of questions that still need to be asked” and promised to keep up her scrutiny of Marc in his role.
Ross Pepper – Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrat candidate Ross Pepper said the result was not “entirely unexpected”.
However, he said he was proud of the three Liberal Democrat councillors that had won seats in the local elections at Lincolnshire County and City of Lincoln Councils.
“I’m ready to work with them for a better Lincolnshire and a better Lincoln,” he said.
“In a Conservative heavy county we did a really good job of getting the Liberal Democrat message out there… and we continue pushing that message through local campaigning in the future.”
David Williams – Lincolnshire Independents
David Williams, the Lincolnshire Independents PCC candidate congratulated Marc Jones on his victory but said it is “not a surprising outcome”.
“I’m really pleased to have run for the post, because if I hadn’t have had a go to do a job that I really would have relished then I would have looked back and regretted not having taking the opportunity.”
Peter Escreet – Reform UK
Peter Escreet, the Reform UK candidate also said the result “was as expected” but actually he was “pleasantly surprised,” saying that this is “just the start”.
“The real campaign is in three years’ time” where Mr Escreet wants to grow a majority.
Conservative Marc Jones has been re-elected to the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner role.
He won from the first round of counting with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout.
The PCC oversees the strategy and finances of the force, and also hires and fires chief constables, who are responsible for the daily policing operations.
Mr Jones will be in the position for three years.
The breakdown of the results is:
Marc Jones (Conservative) – 102,813
Rosanne Kirk (Labour) – 34,310
Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) – 10,172
David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) – 18,375
Peter Escreet (Reform UK) – 6,101
Here’s the live result announcement, the reactions and acceptance speech:
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