A UK Government minister has said the vaccination programme offers the best assurance that further Covid-19 restrictions will not be needed over Christmas in England.
Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden said it was up to the public whether new controls would need to be imposed.
“It is in our hands. If you get the booster when the call comes that is the biggest wall of defence that we have against Covid,” he told Sky News.
“I am confident that if we stick the course, people take the boosters when they are asked to do so, that vaccine wall will hold up and we will be able to have a decent Christmas this year.
“There are no plans to stop Christmas happening. The huge difference this time is the vaccine.”
He cautioned however that controls could be needed if the situation changed dramatically, such as the emergence of a new variant of coronavirus.
“We haven’t ruled it out. If the situation change dramatically we would have to review that again.”
