Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Comments on a Minister for the Vaccine

The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 23 November 2020.

After months of sacrifice, people are looking forward with hope to a vaccine that will save lives and provide a route out of lockdown restrictions. But after the ministerial mistakes over the procurement of PPE and the £12 billion for the failing Test and Trace system, nobody wants yet more avoidable mishaps.

Boris Johnson must reassure the country that Ministers have the resources and plans in places to deliver the vaccination programme as promised.

We need a Herculean effort to achieve the roll-out of a vaccine at a magnitude and scale unlike any we have ever seen before. Our NHS has gone above and beyond this year but is exhausted and overstretched. We can’t limp into the next crucial period of our battle with coronavirus, the government must urgently provide the resources necessary to ensure the speedy and smooth deployment of a vaccine. The necessary plans need to be in place now.