Covid-19: Jonathan Van-Tam warns people who receive two doses of vaccine could still pass it on to others

Oronavirus vaccines may not completely prevent people from passing the virus to others and people who have received the vaccine should continue to adhere to lockdown restrictions, the deputy chief medical officer for England said.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said if those who have been vaccinated start to relax because they are protected, they risk endangering those lower on the priority list who still need to be vaccinated.

His warning came as the latest government figures showed the number of people receiving the first dose of the vaccine across the UK topped 5.8 million, with a record 478,248 receiving the vaccine in a single day.

* People arriving in the UK from abroad could be required to self-quarantine in a hotel, according to a number of Sunday papers, with Cabinet divided over whether the policy should apply to all arrivals or just those returning from coronavirus hotspots.

* A collective representing more than 400 public and private schools have offered to vaccinate all teachers and educational support staff in England during the February semester in a letter to Boris Johnson, the Mail on Sunday said.

* According to the Sunday Telegraph, at least eight vaccination passport programs have received government funding totaling £ 450,000 through January 1, although Minister Michael Gove has previously said these certificates were ‘not the plan”.

Professor Van-Tam, writing in The Telegraph, said it was still unclear whether people who had been vaccinated could still pass the virus on to others, even if they were protected from the disease.

“So even after receiving both doses of the vaccine, you can still give Covid to someone else and then the chains of transmission will continue,” he wrote.

“If you change your behavior, you could still spread the virus, keep the number of cases high and put others at risk who also need their shots but are further in the queue.

“Whether someone has been vaccinated or not, it is critical that everyone follow national restrictions and public health advice, as protection takes up to three weeks to take effect and we do not yet know the impact of vaccines on transmission.

“The vaccine has brought a lot of hope and we are in the last stage of the pandemic, but for now, vaccinated or not, we still have to follow the guidelines a little longer.”

In addition, 32 more vaccination sites are expected to open across the country this week, including one at the museum made famous by the set of the hit television series Peaky Blinders.

The sites include the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, which featured on the longtime TV show, a racetrack, a football stadium and a former Ikea store.

Professor Van-Tam also hit back at doctors who criticized the decision to extend the gap between the first and second dose of the vaccine to 12 weeks.

The British Medical Association wrote to England’s chief medical officer urging him to rethink, saying that in the case of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a maximum period of six weeks had been mandated by the World Health Organization (WHO ).

Prof Van-Tam said widening the gap was the fastest way to get as many people as possible to get a first dose as quickly as possible.

He said: “But what none of these (who ask reasonable questions) will tell me is who on the risk list should suffer from slower access to their first dose so that someone ‘someone else who’s already had a dose (and therefore most protection) can get a second? ”

BMA board chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said that while he understood the “rationale” for the decision, no other country was taking the UK’s approach.

“We believe the flexibility offered by the WHO to extend to 42 days is too stretched to go from six weeks to 12 weeks,” he said.

“Obviously, the protection won’t go away after six weeks, but what we don’t know is what level of protection will be offered. We shouldn’t extrapolate data where we don’t have it.”

Meanwhile, it is reported that schools in England will not fully reopen next month – and may not return until the Easter break.

The Sunday Times said Education Secretary Gavin Williamson must rule out a return to class after the February midterm break and prepare parents for an extended period of homeschooling.

As late as Thursday, Mr Williamson said he hoped schools would be able to reopen before Easter, though Downing Street has clearly declined to endorse his comments.