Another vaccine rollout milestone being successfully passed is a cheering thought

Another milestone has been passed in the vaccine rollout, with more than 20 million people in the UK having now had their first dose.

The latest figures show 20,089,551 have had their first jab, while 796,132 have had a second – on the way to a target of every adult in the UK having their first dose by the end of July.

As I've said here before, it is a very good achievement, with the programme hopefully set to continue on its current trajectory. But one thing that Chris Hopson said in the wake of the announcement caught my attention. Hopson is the chief executive of NHS Providers – which represents hospital trusts in England – and has written a number of opinion pieces for The Independent during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re not even close to halfway through this programme,” Hopson said. “And there’s a further challenge: to design a workforce model to enable us to do this year in, year out.”

It is the second half of that quote that interests me – how the rollout is replicated (although hopefully on a somewhat smaller scale) if some form of vaccination does indeed end up being required annually. The government has ordered Covid-19 vaccines for next year and has the option to order more for years to come, but as the vaccines are so new, we do not yet have a clear picture of just how long they will last, or if possible mutations will require a future tweak of the vaccine which may then necessitate a booster.

The vaccine is obviously something you care deeply about, and I’m heartened by the number of letters we have received from readers who have received their first vaccine jab – no doubt we will receive plenty more as the rollout continues.

Time will tell what else is needed in future years, if anything, but at the moment, I’m glad to see that the vaccine rollout is progressing as planned.

Yours,

Chris Stevenson

Voices editor