THE COVID vaccine should help end masks laws by Spring, Matt Hancock said this morning as the first Brits were given the jab.
And the boss of the vaccine task force Kate Bingham predicted people will be able to jet off on their summer holidays next year, as most vulnerable Brits will be protected by then.
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When asked about whether people will still need to wear face masks for most of next year, Mr Hancock told LBC: “I don’t think so. I think that by Spring, we should be out of those measures.
“I really hope so, and I hope that we have a normal summer this summer coming.”
The Health Secretary stressed that laws making face masks mandatory will be scrapped.
“I think people have got used to wearing face masks in certain circumstances, but I want to get back to living by personal responsibility rather than laws pass through Parliament,” Mr Hancock said.
Ms Bingham said rolling out the vaccine across the country is a “monumental challenge” but she said Britain is the “most well-prepared country” in the world.
And she said by summer 2021, Brits should be able to head off on a well-deserved holiday.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “My gut feel is that we will all be going on summer holidays.
“It is likely that those people most at risk will be vaccinated through to April, and then the (Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation) and the Department for Health will then consider how to broaden out the vaccinations to other adults.
“I think by the summer we should be in a much better place to get on planes.”
But the vaccine boss warned Covid-19 would be with the world forever – and the jab would have to become routine, especially for the vulnerable.
“I don’t think we’re going to get away from this virus ever – so we’re going to have to maintain sensible hygiene and washing hands, and so on.
“I would like this vaccine to be as routine as an annual flu jab and that we manage it rather than get bowed down by it.”
Boris Johnson urged Brits to get the jab this morning, saying there’s “nothing to be nervous about”.
“It’s good for you and it’s good for the whole of the country,” the PM said.
“Gradually (the vaccine) will make a huge, huge difference. But I stress gradually, because we’re not there yet. We haven’t defeated this virus yet.”
“It’s amazing to see the vaccine come out, it’s tremendous to see this shot in the arm for the entire nation, but we can’t afford to relax (social distancing) now.”
An emotional Mr Hancock cried on live TV this morning as he announced the first round of coronavirus jabs had already started.
90-year-old gran, Margaret Keenan, from Coventry, was the first Brit to be given the new coronavirus vaccine today in a historic moment in the fight against the virus.
She is among hundreds of OAPs and NHS staff to receive the vaccine on what is being dubbed V-Day after the UK became the first country in the world to start using the Pfizer vaccine after regulators approved its use last week.
A teary-eyed Mr Hancock said “it makes you so proud to be British” after watching William Shakespeare from Warwickshire get his jab this morning.
He added: “You know, it’s been such a tough year for so many people.
“We can get on with our lives. And there’s still a few months to go.”
