Prime Minister to set out autumn and winter plan for Covid

The Prime Minister will set out the government’s autumn and winter plan for managing Covid at a press conference this afternoon.

This will follow a statement from the Health and Social Care Secretary to the House.

The government’s autumn and winter plan will set out a renewed focus on vaccines as the first line of defence, supported by testing, public health advice, and a world-leading variant surveillance system. All evidence and data has been consistently kept under review, with today’s plan representing the latest advice for controlling the virus.

In England, the number of deaths and hospitalisations has remained relatively stable over the last month. Our vaccines are highly effective, with PHE analysis suggesting that two doses led to the prevention of 24,702,000 infections and 112,300 deaths, up to the 27 August.

The government has now received the final advice from the JCVI on the booster programme. The Prime Minister and Health and Social Care Secretary will today set out how the programme will be rolled out to the most vulnerable.

The booster programme is separate to the third primary dose programme for those who are immunocompromised.

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said:

The pandemic is far from over, but thanks to our phenomenal vaccine programme, new treatments and testing we are able to live with the virus without significant restrictions on our freedoms.

Today I will set out a clear plan for the autumn and winter, when the virus has a natural advantage, to protect the gains we have made.