The UK will receive its first doses of the coronavirus vaccine “within hours,” England’s deputy chief medical officer has confirmed.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam told BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in this morning that Britain’s health chiefs expect to receive the newly-approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine “very, very shortly”, adding: "I do mean hours, not days.”
His comments come after a Government minister predicted that the country will defeat the virus “by the spring", thanks to the imminent rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Amid the optimism, on Thursday the UK surpassed 60,000 coronavirus deaths — the first country in Europe to reach that grim milestone.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson gave his optimistic analysis as he offered a “cast-iron guarantee” that GCSE and A-level exams will go head next year after it emerged that pupils in England will be awarded more generous grades and receive advanced notice of exam topics in a bid to “boost fairness”.
