Push for 1million jabs a day to save British summer as door-to-door 'Covid hit squads' target India variant hot spots

MINISTERS are pushing to vaccinate one million people a day within weeks to "save the British summer" amid fears the Indian Covid strain could scupper reopening.

Meanwhile "Covid hit squads" will reportedly go door to door offering jabs to whole households in infection hot spots in the North West.

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The government is putting its hopes in the vaccine rollout after pressure from some scientists to rethink plans to lift almost all social distancing rules on June 21.

By using a stockpile of 3.2million vaccine doses, daily jabs will be ramped up from around 500,000 to 800,000 within a fortnight.

Government insiders told The Sunday Telegraph they hope the number can increase to one million on some days.

This should mean younger people can get their first jabs as soon as possible at the same time as second does for over-50s are brought forward.

Meanwhile door-to-door teams are said to be heading to Bolton and Blackburn, where the strain of the Indian variant is highest and there is a greatest level of "vaccine hesitancy".

Multi-generational households will be offered vaccines all at once, reports the Mail on Sunday.

A government source said the policy is: "In jabs we trust."

Yesterday Boris Johnson announced that the army is set to be deployed in Bolton in a race to crack down on the strain.

Surge testing had already been deployed in the area in order to detect cases of the Indian and South African variant.

Mr Johnson said the army would help push out more surge tests and vaccinations will also be pushed in both Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen – with sites opening for longer in these areas.

He said: "We will be throwing everything we have at this task. Colonel Russ Miller, commander of the North West region, will be deployed to support local leaders in managing the local response on the ground.

"For those living in Bolton there is now a new, greater risk from this variant.

"The army will be out on the streets handing out tests".

It comes as:

  • The Indian variant is 50 per cent more transmissible, new SAGE documents revealed
  • The PM announced the gap between first and second jabs would be slashed to eight weeks
  • Chris Whitty said the next few weeks were critical for finding out more about the faster spreading of the India variant
  • Four people have now died from the Indian variant, PHE said earlier
  • The army will be brought in to help in Bolton, to clamp down on a surge in cases, and vaccine sites will be kept open even longer too.

In Bolton yesterday, 4,000 people were vaccinated by a Covid 'jab bus' but it caused queue chaos after false claims that everyone in the area was able to receive jabs.

Bolton's infection rate currently stands at 228.5 cases per 100,000 people, far above many other areas in the UK.

Thousands of people queued after Councillor Andy Morgan shared a Tweet inviting locals of all ages to “visit the vaccine bus” if they live in the area and are registered with a local GP.

He told residents that if they make their way down “the team will find a reason to vaccinate you" – but the tweet was later deleted.

As the Indian variant continues to raise caution, the MHRA (the medicines regulator) is expected to approve Johnson & Johnson's single dose vaccine.

There were fears that the Government's decision to allow the over 50s to have their second dose earlier could impact younger people.

But it was confirmed by sources that first jabs for the over 35 will be available "in the coming days".

The leader of Bolton Council David Greenhalgh told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "This is an issue of capacity but we have had very, very constructive talks and certainly all the soundings are is that they are looking to progress that as soon as possible.

"The vast majority of our cases are in their teens, 20s and 30s at the moment.

"If we can get vaccinations to (those aged) 16-plus, which are licensed by Pfizer, then it will make a total transformation of transmission as it moves forward.

"I think realistically that would start in targeted areas where we see the predominance (of the virus) currently."

Sage (the Government's scientific advisory group) warned the Indian may be 50 per cent more transmissible than the Kent variant, which is currently dominant.

There are fears the Indian Covid strain could lead to 1,000 deaths a day, with the Army being deployed to help surge testing in the worst-hit areas, such as Bolton and Blackburn.

Sir Mark Walport, a member of Sage, said the race between the spread of coronavirus and the vaccination rollout was "on a knife edge".

But hospitalisations in the over-60s, who are most at-risk from serious infection, remain low, with data suggesting the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are effective against the variant.

The PM cautioned last night that the June 21 easing of restrictions could be jeopardised by the spread of the new mutation of the disease.





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