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Covid vaccine rollout to be accelerated as under 40s can have second jab after 8 weeks

The time between the first and second dose of a Covid-19 jab will be reduced from 12 to eight weeks for under-40s, the government has announced.

Speaking during a Downing Street press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move aims to accelerate the immunisation programme as he announced Freedom Day will go ahead on July 19.

He said it is hoped it will mean that all over 18s will be double-jabbed by mid-September.

The latest move to shorten the interval for under-40s mirrors the briefer eight-week interval that already exists for over-40s between their first and second dose.

Mr Johnson on Monday confirmed the government aimed to end restrictive measures on July 19, with a final decision to be taken next week - despite widespread opposition by scientists.

He said the step would eliminate formal limits on social contact, the instruction to work from home, and mandates to wear face masks.

After imposing the most onerous constraints on behaviour in Britain's peacetime history to battle the novel coronavirus, Mr Johnson is betting the vaccination programme can prevent the health service being overwhelmed by a new coronavirus wave.

Under plans, nightclubs will be allowed to reopen and there will be no limits on capacity of hospitality venues.

Social distancing guidelines will also be scrapped.

"We must be honest with ourselves that if we can't reopen our society in the next few weeks when we will be helped by the arrival of summer and by the school holidays, then we must ask ourselves when will we be able to return to normal?" Mr Johnson said at the news conference.

Britain has suffered the seventh highest global death toll from COVID-19, and Johnson has been accused of being too slow to implement each of England's three lockdowns.

But the take-up of vaccines in Britain has been strong, with 86% of adults receiving a first dose and 64% receiving two doses as of Monday, according to government data.

The Prime Minister hailed the "massive success" of the vaccine programme and defended his plans as a "cautious approach".

But the plan to lift all restrictions in just two weeks' time has sparked opposition by scientists who worry about a recent resurgence of cases caused by the Delta variant.

The British Medical Association warned over the weekend that the rise in cases was "alarming" and it made "no sense" to remove all restrictions at the same time.

The highest number of cases since January's peak was recorded last Wednesday as cases soared to more than 26,000 in the UK.

There were 27,334 new cases recorded on Monday, while a further nine deaths were reported, bringing the overall death toll to 128,231. 

Reference: Mirror: Claire Gilbody-Dickerson