London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Boris declares ‘no change’ to next steps of lockdown escape plan

Boris declares ‘no change’ to next steps of lockdown escape plan

The Prime Minister also revealed he will receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday
Boris Johnson has said he does not expect the reduction in vaccine supply to have an impact on the timetable for easing coronavirus restrictions.

Speaking at a Downing Street press briefing, the Prime Minister declared: “There is no change to the next steps of the road map.”

The upbeat message followed the news that a delay in deliveries from India and the need to retest a batch of 1.7 million doses is behind problems with vaccine supply in April.

Mr Johnson said: “We have always said that in a vaccination programme of this pace and this scale, some interruptions in supply are inevitable.

“It is true that in the short term we are receiving fewer vaccines than we had planned for a week ago, that is because of a delay in a shipment from the Serum Institute (of India) - who are doing a herculean job in producing vaccines in such large quantities - and because of a batch that we currently have in the UK that needs to be retested as part of our rigorous safety programme.

“As a result, we will receive slightly fewer vaccines in April than in March but that is still more than we received in February and the supply we do have will still enable us to hit the targets we have set.”

The over-50s and the clinically vulnerable will still be offered a first dose by April 15, and second doses will be available to around 12 million people in April.

Every adult will be offered a first dose by the end of July, as planned, he said.

“Our progress along the road to freedom continues unchecked, we remain on track to reclaim the things we love, to see our families and friends again, to return to our local pubs, our gyms and sports facilities and, of course, our shops,” he said.

Under the Prime Minister’s “cautious” four-stage road map, outdoor socialising will resume from 29 March with the return of the so-called Rule of Six. Groups larger than six from a maximum of two households will also be able to meet.

Outdoor sport and leisure facilities, such as golf courses and tennis courts, will be allowed to reopen, while organised outdoor sport can resume for children and adults.

The next step, coming no sooner than 12 April, will see see the reopening of non-essential retail with pubs and restaurants able to open outdoors. Hairdressers and gyms will also be able to reopen, while self-contained holiday accommodation without shared indoor facilities will be able to welcome guests.

Under the road map, pubs and restaurants will reopen from 17 May with remaining restrictions set to be lifted from June 21.

At the press conference, Mr Johnson also revealed he is due to have his AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday.

"The Oxford jab is safe and the Pfizer jab is safe. The thing that isn't safe is catching Covid which is why it's so important that we all get our jabs as soon as our turn comes," he said.

"As it happens I'm getting mine tomorrow, and the centre where I'm getting jabbed is currently using the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine ... and that is the one I'll be having."

SII chief executive Adar Poonawalla told The Telegraph the delay to a shipment of millions of doses was "solely dependent on India and it has nothing to do with the SII".

"It is to do with the Indian government allowing more doses to the UK," he said.

But Mr Johnson told the Downing Street press conference "the Indian government has not stopped any export" but "there is a delay... as there is very frequently in vaccine rollout programmes".

"It's very important to stress whatever you may hear about the pressures that different countries are under to deliver vaccines for their public, these vaccines are a multinational effort, they are produced as the result of international co-operation and I want to stress that we in the UK will continue to view it in that spirit.

"We don't have any bans on exporting stuff and we will continue to co-operate with our European friends."

The issues with supply came as regulators in the UK and Europe reaffirmed the safety of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.

The Prime Minister said: "The Oxford jab is safe and the Pfizer jab is safe. The thing that isn't safe is catching Covid, which is why it is so important that we all get our jabs as soon as our turn comes."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×