London has today broken the three million vaccine barrier, with a third of the total delivered in the last month alone. This is a phenomenal achievement and we must once again pay tribute to the Vaccine Taskforce and our NHS for the ongoing success of the programme.
Two familiar challenges remain, however — supply and demand. For the former, while it appears that tempers have calmed on both sides of the Channel, we know that supply will be constrained in April.
This is further complicated by the Indian government’s decision to halt the export of vaccines while it tackles a new wave of infections. But there is good supply news, with Moderna expecting to deliver its first vaccines to the UK next month and the company is confident it will meet its contractual commitments.
Then there is demand. While the UK has seen tremendous uptake, disparities — both regional and ethnic — are worrying. For example, although 96 per cent of white people over 80 have been vaccinated, that figure falls to 72 per cent for black people.
Meanwhile, the NHS Central London clinical commissioning group that covers most of Westminster has vaccinated only 60.8 per cent of over-eighties. It is of paramount importance that we vaccinate all eligible adults as quickly as possible, especially parents, given that children can transmit the virus.
It is hugely encouraging that the capital’s Covid deaths could fall to zero — something not seen since September last year — in the next few days.
But unvaccinated pockets will threaten this progress when the city begins to open up. We need national and local government to work together, as well as community schemes such as Covid-19 champions in Tower Hamlets, to ensure that no one is left behind.
The last mile is often the hardest, but the prize on offer — a return to normality — is worth the extra effort.
