Matt Hancock says coronavirus vaccine means tiers will loosen as soon as March
7 December 2020, 07:49
The Health Secretary said he 'can't wait to scrap' the tier system next year.
Matt Hancock has revealed that the Pfizer and Biontech coronavirus vaccine means England's tier system will be loosened as early as March next year.
The Health Secretary told the Telegraph that he "can't wait" for the tier system to be scrapped and for normal life to return by Spring 2021.
READ MORE: Will there be another lockdown in January 2021?
The first doses of the vaccine will be administered on Tuesday this week to those who are most vulnerable.
This weekend, the Pfizer and Biontech vaccine was shipped to 50 locations across the UK ahead of the start of the immunisation plans.
Thanks to the vaccine's fast-track approval, 'normal life' could return in the not-so-distant future.
Mr Hancock said: "There's no doubt that having the vaccine early... will bring forward the moment when we can get rid of these blasted restrictions, but until then we have got to follow them."
He added: "Help is on its way.”
The Health Secretary did add however that the "elbow bump greeting" may be around for some time still as scientists did not yet know whether the vaccine prevents people from being able to pass the virus on.
“We'll keep watching what happens to the epidemic", he said: “But the more people you vaccinate, the more lives you save and the fewer people who die, the sooner you can lift the restrictions – it's as simple as that.”
READ NOW: First doses of coronavirus vaccine to be administered in the UK on Tuesday
