‘When you get the call, get the jab’: Matt Hancock says it is now 'even more important' to get vaccinated due to Indian variant

By Ethan Shone
Published 19th May 2021, 17:47 BST
‘When you get the call, get the jab’: Matt Hancock says it is now “even more important” to get vaccinated due to Indian variant‘When you get the call, get the jab’: Matt Hancock says it is now “even more important” to get vaccinated due to Indian variant
‘When you get the call, get the jab’: Matt Hancock says it is now “even more important” to get vaccinated due to Indian variant

Matt Hancock has again urged people to get vaccinated, as concern about the Indian variant continues to grow.

Speaking at today’s Covid press conference, the health secretary said that while the overall number of hospitalisations and death from Covid remain low, “we must proceed with vigilance and everyone taking personal responsibility”.

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Matt Hancock appeared at the conference alongside Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Jonathan Van-Tam and chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency Dr Jenny Harries.

New variant is more transmissible

Hancock said that seven out of 10 adults in the UK has now received a first dose of the vaccine, and almost four in ten have had both doses, though he urged those still unvaccinated to engage with the process, saying: “If you get the call, get the jab”.

The health secretary stressed that while early evidence suggests vaccines are effective against the new variant, it also appears to be more transmissible.