As the Government pushes ahead with its aim to vaccinate as many people as possible against Covid-19, it is set to publish its coronavirus Vaccines Delivery Plan today, Monday 11 January.

Lat week, Boris Johnson said the plan was to expand the supply of vaccines that can be administered, get more places doing the vaccinations and expand partnerships to “get the job done”.

Vaccinations against Covid-19 are currently being rolled out across the country, with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines already being administered. The Moderna jab is the latest Covid vaccine to receive approval for use in the UK.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to explain the UK's new vaccination plan during a Downing Street press conference this afternoon.

What is the Vaccines Delivery Plan?

The Vaccines Delivery Plan is set to lay out the strategies behind the development, manufacturing and deployment of the coronavirus vaccines.

Across the UK, more than 1,000 vaccination sites have already been established, and around two million people have now been vaccinated with either the Pfizer or Oxford vaccines. The UK rollout of the Pfizer vaccine began on 8 December 2020, and the Oxford vaccine was first administered on 4 January 2021.

In total, the UK has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, 30 million of the Pfizer vaccine, and 17 million of the Moderna jab.

The government is focusing on vaccinating four key groups by the middle of February, adding up to a total of around 13 million people.

The four groups include care home residents and staff, all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers, all those aged 75 and over, and everyone aged 70 and over and the clinically extremely vulnerable.

The vaccination rollout also plans for nobody to have to travel more than 10 miles for a vaccine appointment. The Government's intention is that every elderly care home resident will have been offered a Covid jab by the end of January.

The Health Secretary will visit one of the seven new regional vaccination centres in order to see part of the plan in action first hand.

The seven new large vaccination centres are located in venues such as sports stadiums and exhibition centres. These are:

  • Robertson House, Stevenage
  • The ExCel Centre, London
  • The Centre for Life, Newcastle
  • The Etihad Tennis Centre, Manchester
  • Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey
  • Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
  • Millennium Point, Birmingham

‘Ensuring we protect the British people from the scourge of this virus’

Mr Hancock said that the government has worked closely with experts to put preparations in place for the vaccine rollout, which is the “biggest vaccination programme in British history.”

“From today, the full scale of our plans will be published, so the public can be assured of the time, effort and resources that have gone and will go into ensuring we protect the British people from the scourge of this virus,” he commented.

“The UK vaccine delivery plan will be the keystone of our exit out of the pandemic, but we all must continue to play our part by staying at home, following the rules and keeping hands, face, space at the forefront of our minds when out and about.”

Addressing the government’s coronavirus vaccination plan, Minister for Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “Our plan of action will set out our ambitions for the coming weeks and months as we continue to expand our programme at breakneck speed, with strategies to underpin every commitment.

Mr Zahawi added that it has been “phenomenal to see our extensive preparations come to fruition,” and that the plans will enable the public “to see exactly how we will ensure they and their loved ones get the vaccine as quickly as possible.”