Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Coronavirus: Ministers to step up vaccine take up calls amid variant fears

People queue for the vaccination centre at the Essa Academy in Bolton.

Ministers will today step up calls for people - especially those living in hotspots of the Indian Covid variant - to accept a vaccination as soon as they are offered one.

The health secretary said anyone who is unsure to "look at...Bolton" - where he said most people in hospital with Covid were eligible for a jab but refused it.

Matt Hancock says 86 local councils have five or more cases of the variant.

It came as lockdowns eased in England, Wales and most of Scotland on Monday.

But Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP for Bolton South East, challenged Mr Hancock's assertion that her constituents had refused the vaccine, blaming poor organisation instead.

There have been long queues outside the town's vaccination centres as residents queue for the jab.

Meanwhile, millions of people have been enjoying new freedoms - such as indoor pints, hugs with loved ones and foreign holidays- for the first time in months under Monday's separate easing of restrictions across the three nations.

But amid concern over rising numbers of India variant cases, the government has warned its next review of social distancing rules may be delayed.

Mr Hancock told the House of Commons on Monday that 86 local authorities now have five or more cases of the Indian variant, with 2,323 confirmed cases across the UK.

Ministers are now said to be considering contingency plans for local lockdowns if the variant cannot be brought under control, according to the Times newspaper.

As part of its roadmap out of lockdown, the government's plan was to end all remaining restrictions on social contact by 21 June - which would mean unlimited numbers of guests at weddings, and venues such as nightclubs being allowed to reopen.

Ahead of this, a review was set to take place by the end of May.

But the prime minister's official spokesman warned yesterday that the Indian variant "could pose a threat to this process" and that the government's decision would be based on the "latest data".

Asked whether ministers would consider a return to a tier system of rules, the spokesman said they did not want to talk about hypothetical situations but "we don't want to rule anything out".

Analysis box by Chris Mason, political correspondent

The wait for more data begins.

Data on the variant from India: how quickly it spreads, how many fall seriously ill, how effective vaccines are against it.

And data on the impact of the latest easing of restrictions in much of Britain.

It's likely to be a few weeks before an assessment can be made about what is done next.

The removal of all remaining restrictions in England is meant to be a little over a month away, but there's a consistent caution from ministers.

The government is desperate not to overpromise and disappoint; many businesses and some Conservative MPs are desperate the final shackles on our liberties are thrown off, on time.

One former minister, Conor Burns, said the country had tolerated "the most profound curtailment of our freedoms in peacetime" and "it wouldn't be right to do so again" because some people had refused the offer of a vaccine.

Mr Hancock also told MPs that the Indian variant is now the dominant strain in Bolton and neighbouring Blackburn and Darwen, in Lancashire, and was rising in all age groups.

He said most people in hospital in those areas had been eligible for a vaccine but had chosen not to have it - and urged anyone not sure whether to get jabbed to "look at what's happening in Bolton".

But Ms Qureshi disagreed that vaccine hesitancy was a problem, arguing that the area was initially slow to get the right vaccine rollout infrastructure.

She told the BBC's Newsnight programme on Monday that the rollout "was done in one place in the town centre with only about six vaccinators to cover a huge area and a huge population".

"They were not able to get to people. Some people had to use two or three buses to get into the town centre. A lot of these people were on zero-hours contracts or living in multi-generational homes and they weren't able to be contacted."

She added that pop-up clinics did start but that it was only this weekend that a pop up mass vaccination centre arrived.

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Bedford is also fast becoming a hotspot for the variant, Mr Hancock said, with surge testing being deployed there.

Meanwhile, invitations are going out to people aged 37 and over in England to get a Covid jab as part of the latest stage of the vaccine rollout.

Text messages are being sent on Tuesday asking people to book an appointment - with 36-year-olds due to be contacted on Wednesday.

NHS England national medical director Stephen Powis said yesterday that there had been 930,000 appointments made since the vaccination programme was opened up to 38 and 39-year-olds, and he encouraged people to accept a jab when they are offered one.

"Getting vaccinated is the most important step we can take to protect ourselves, our families and our communities against Covid 19, so when it is your turn to get your first or second dose please do so," he said.

On Monday, the government's coronavirus dashboard recorded another 1,976 new infections across the UK and a further five deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test.

The data also showed that the number of people who have received their first vaccine dose had topped 36.7 million, and more than 20.2 million second doses had been given.