Politics

Boris Johnson’s Cabinet to meet in person for first time in four months



Boris Johnson will today assemble his Cabinet in person for the first time in four months as the Government presses ahead with plans to secure millions of doses of a potential Covid-19 vaccine.

Senior ministers will meet in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office rather than the smaller Cabinet room in Downing Street to allow for proper social distancing.

It comes after a study suggested a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford was safe and induces an immune reaction.


Health Secretary Matt Hancock, one of the ministers expected to attend Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, later praised the work of British health officials.

He said they had “played a blinder” and claimed the virus was “on the back foot”.

Mr Hancock is likely to be quizzed on the vaccines and the latest NHS Test and Trace results when he appears before the Commons Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday.

The Cabinet meeting – the first in person since March 17 – also comes after the Government signed deals for 90 million doses of other promising Covid-19 vaccines.

This latest deal was made with a pharmaceutical giant alliance between firms BioNtech and Pfizer as well as Valneva.

The Government is aiming to build a portfolio of potential vaccines, alongside effective treatments for coronavirus.

The latest announcement is for 30 million doses of a vaccine from BioNTech/Pfizer, 60 million doses from Valneva, with an option to acquire a further 40 million doses if needed. It follows an agreement for 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine.

Meanwhile Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced public sector workers on the frontline of the pandemic would receive a pay rise.

Almost 900,000 workers including doctors, teachers and police officers will be given an above-inflation pay rise following a testing few months since Covid-19 hit the UK.

Each award is recommended by independent pay review bodies, and this year the Government has accepted the suggested rise for each workforce.

The Health and Social Care Committee will also meet on Tuesday and will hear evidence from Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty as part of the committee’s inquiry into the management of the coronavirus outbreak.

Deputy Chief Medical Officers Dr Jenny Harries and Professor Jonathan Van-Tam are also set to give evidence.

It follows the publication of research which found around 3,500 lives may be lost to four common cancers over the next five years due to delays in diagnosis caused by Covid-19.

A drop-off in the number of people seeing their GP with symptoms, and lower referrals for scans, could result in cancer being spotted too late, according to research published in The Lancet Oncology on Tuesday.

Briefings from the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales will also take place on Tuesday afternoon, with Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford now holding weekly press conferences after ending his daily updates last week.



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.