The first ‘real in the world’ data examining the effects of vaccines show that the Oxford and Pfizer jobs cut two-thirds of diseases and transmissions.
The data, which supports British policy to extend the time between doses, shows that one picture of one of the vaccines affects people of all ages.
Boris Johnson is expected to hear evidence on the impact of jabs on transmission, infection, hospital admissions and deaths by the end of Friday.
This will be ahead of PM’s expected ‘roadmap’ out of England’s closure on Monday.
It comes as it was revealed that Britons as young as 40 could be offered an injection within a few weeks.
Government advisers are expected to recommend that the next phase of vaccine distribution continue according to age, rather than prioritizing key workers.
The data, which supports British policy to extend the time between doses, shows that one picture of one of the vaccines affects people of all ages. Pictured: A person receives the coronavirus vaccine at Westfield Stratford City shopping center on Thursday
Boris Johnson is expected to hear evidence on the impact of jabs on transmission, infection, hospital admissions and premature deaths
This comes ahead of the PM’s expected ‘roadmap’ out of England’s closure on Monday
The ‘real world’ data, from Public Health England surveys with 40,000 healthcare workers and 9,000 care homes, will be published later this month.
But it is reported that Mr Johnson is going to get initial decisions – showing the positive impact of Oxford and Pfizer jabs in cutting disease – early.
Sources told the Telegraph that the data was ‘very encouraging’ and will play a big part in the reopening of England.
Most of the data is on the effects of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine after doses were first given in December.
However, similar results were found with the Oxford / AstraZeneca jab, only to a lesser extent due to its later release.
A PHE spokesman said: ‘We have been analyzing the data since the vaccine rollout began and will publish our results in due course.’
Meanwhile it was announced today that Britons as young as 40 could be offered an injection within a few weeks.
Government advisers are expected to recommend that the next phase of the distribution of the vaccine continue according to age, rather than prioritizing key workers.
But the age brackets will be wider than before – meaning 40- to 49-year-olds are likely to be invited for an injection once the 32 million people in the top nine groups on receiving the first dose.
Earlier this week it emerged that this target could be hit as early as March 24, if the daily average is maintained.
This would mean that people over the age of 40 were invited to have an injection in less than five weeks.
It would be a major boost to Britain’s vaccination program and could add to the pressure on ministers to remove the lockout more quickly.
The priority list for dissemination has been confirmed by the Joint Government Committee on Immunization and Vaccination, which met yesterday to draft its recommendations for the next step.
These are expected to be signed by members today before being sent to ministers for approval at the beginning of next week.
It is understood that the committee rejected the idea of prioritizing key workers or minorities for a simplified approach based on age.
Vaccine age bands are expected to be extended, without priority for key workers, meaning people over the age of 40 would get their first Covid shot before the end of March. Pictured: Vaccine delivers injection of AstraZeneca / Oxford Covid-19 vaccine to patient at established vaccine center at Chester Racecourse, Chester, England, on 15 February
In other encouraging news Public Health England (PHE) said conditions were still falling in all areas, and individual figures said deaths among people over 80 were down two-thirds in three weeks.
Boris Johnson is expected to unveil his roadmap out of lockdown on Monday following a meeting of his ‘Covid O’ committee and data – expected today – on how well the vaccine is being distributed working.
The Mail revealed this week that, under current plans, life is unlikely to return to normal until July.
That has put pressure on Mr Johnson to go further to reduce concessions.
The first 15 million people who received the injection were given priority with five-year-old bonds, and also included front-line health and social care workers.
The current rate includes everyone over 50 as well as those with certain health conditions.
It was thought that this group would have offered the first dose before the beginning of May, but it emerged earlier in the week that the target could be hit much sooner – perhaps at end of March.
Graph showing the number of vaccines per day in the UK. To date over 16.4 million people have received at least one dose in the UK
The question of who should be prioritized is the next debate for weeks, with many arguing that key staff – such as the police or teachers – should be offered injections first.
It was also argued that indigenous minorities should be given priority as data from the first wave suggested that they were up to twice as likely to die from Covid.
Members of the JCVI are said to be satisfied that those most at risk are reported within the main workforce groups and ethnic minorities, due to their ‘clinical vulnerability’. ‘or’ over 50 ‘.
However, they are believed to have suggested that the age brackets could be extended from five years to ten in the next step.
This is because the difference in risk of death between someone aged 30 and someone aged 39 is much lower than it is between 70-year-old and 79-year-old.
So there is no need to divide young people into such narrow age groups.
Ministers can still make a ‘political decision’ to prioritize teachers and other frontline staff, contrary to committee guidance.
There is a potential for some other medical conditions to be added to the priority list as well.
A source said: ‘Members are now close to agreeing on who the next phase of the vaccine distribution program should be.’