Military to aid COVID vaccination rollout, Prime Minister announces

Boris Johnson has made an announcement live from Downing Street this evening (January 7) regarding the government's latest plans to further roll out the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Prime Minister was joined by Brigadier Phil Prosser, and NHS England's chief executive Sir Simon Stevens to unveil a new plan of action for vaccination rollout across the country, using the military to aid distribution. 

Assistance from the military aims to improve the safety and efficiency of the vaccine rollout.

The hope is that this plan will accelerate the current vaccination programme to meet Boris' ambitious target of 13 million people being vaccinated by mid-February, meaning millions more people will be vaccinated by the middle of next month.

The Prime Minister said that the government is "throwing everything" at the effort to vaccinate the most vulnerable to protect them from coronavirus.

Boris Johnson explained that by using the capacity of the NHS, these goals are achievable. This capacity includes 1,000 GP-led vaccine programmes, 23 at hospitals and at seven giant vaccination centres, which includes a site at Robertson House in Stevenage.

The expansion plan also aims to ensure no person has to travel more than 10 miles to receive their vaccination.

A full deployment plan, which will span 39 days, will be published on Monday (January 11).