Dozens of politicians from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own conservative party called for an end to blockade measures in late April, when the country’s nine highest-priority groups must have received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
Legislator Steve Harvey posted a letter on Twitter on Saturday that he said was signed by 63 conservative lawmakers.
“Since all nine priority groups were protected until the end of April, there is no justification for legislative restrictions to remain,” says the letter.
The letter argues that the “national priority” of reopening UK schools to students “should be achieved by 8 March”.
In response to Sky News on Sunday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he did not think “you could set an arbitrary target and not be driven by evidence”
The UK led one of the fastest vaccination efforts in the world, with Raab saying it “is on track to reach the first milestone” on Monday to give its four priority groups the first dose. The United Kingdom decided to focus on giving the first dose to as many people as possible and then giving the second dose when supplies allow.
England and Scotland have been blocked since the beginning of January, with Wales and Northern Ireland blocked since the end of December.
The group, while praising the “tremendous pace of vaccine release”, emphasized that the “government roadmap should demonstrate how the vaccine launch translates into a return to normal life”.
The group called for the reopening of pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues until Easter, “in a way that allows Covid to be safe, but also to operate in a commercially viable manner”
The vaccine should not only provide us with “Covid immunity, but it should also give us permanent immunity against Covid-related blockages and restrictions,” they concluded.