good evening, and welcome to our special coverage here on bbc one and bbc news on the day scientists at the university of oxford announced their new covid vaccine, which is at least 70% effective, and will be widely available in the yearahead. the prime minister borisjohnson is about to give a news conference in downing street, to give more details on england's return to the three—tier system when lockdown ends on 2nd december. parts of the system will be tougher, but gyms and shops will reopen

and a closing time curfew for pubs and restaurants will be eased. we will be in downing street as soon as that news conference gets under way. the prime minister is, of course, self—isolating right now so he will be appearing by video link in the news conference. then in the news c0 nfe re nce in the news conference. then in the news conference itself, we will be expecting to see professor chris whitty and andrew pollard from the oxford vaccine group. they have been rightly proud of what they have been able to announce today. that is coming up, as able to announce today. that is coming up, as soon as able to announce today. that is coming up, as soon as it starts we will be there but to set the scene, let'sjoin will be there but to set the scene, let's join vicki young, our deputy political editor at westminster. vaccine today and then you tier regime, what do you expect the prime minister to be outlining?” regime, what do you expect the prime minister to be outlining? i think it will be a message of hope balanced with caution. hope because of the good news about vaccinations, and hope because mass rapid testing

could be rolled out to more people. so the prime minister keen to show people there is light at the end of the tunnel. talking now about after easter, the coronavirus lockdowns being a thing of the past, he hopes. but caution because in between now and then, is in very difficult weeks ahead. that is what today is all about, this return next week to a new tier system and they will all be strengthened, toughened up, so people who have been experiencing these measures in some parts of the country for months and months will be going back to something and more people, millions of people in england going back to something pretty tough. it will be different to what we have got at the moment. in tier3, the to what we have got at the moment. in tier 3, the highest tier, gyms will be open, shops will be open, outside sport will return. the rule of six outdoors will be there. so it will feel a little bit less like it is now but it is absolutely not a return to normality. the prime

minister will also be asked, i'm sure, about arrangements for christmas. the four nations trying to come up with a joint approach to allow people, to allow some households, may be free, to mix together for a few days over christmas. but it is pretty controversial. —— may be three households. i'm sure chris whitty will be pressed on that because most people think if you have the relaxation, it will mean a rise in cases and tragically a rise in deaths. a very big difference of opinion about whether that should be allowed to go ahead. stay with us, and i'm sure we will be under way in and i'm sure we will be under way in a few minutes. hugh pym our health editor is with me as well. we are waiting to see what they have to say as usual. it's a difficult balance, isn't it? especially for the people at home, the news today extremely encouraging about the vaccine and then of course, the prime minister inevitably saying hang on, we're not there yet, we need a new system of regulation to kick back in. the balance is tricky? yes, a tricky

balance. optimism with the vaccine, as you say but life will seem really quite similarfrom the as you say but life will seem really quite similar from the 2nd of december onwards, with restrictions announced for england. people may well be looking forward to christmas, though. they will want to know what relaxation will be announced later in the week, in association with the devolved administrations. that will be very important. another route through all of this the prime minister has been talking about is mass testing, mass community testing, whereby you get a quick result and then you can be cleared. there will be more on that today and during the week, i think. let's go over to number 10 because we can see now that professor chris whitty is in position, just there on the right. he is the chief medical officerfor england. the right. he is the chief medical officer for england. then we the right. he is the chief medical officerfor england. then we have andrew pollard on the left, who is from the oxford vaccine group, where they had a very exciting news today that this vaccine, which will really be available for the entire world at

a relatively low cost and much easier to store than the other vaccines we have been reporting on in the last few weeks. so for the oxford vaccine with astrazeneca, it's been a very big day for them. they are just getting ready, in position. you will notice the screen on the left because that is the screen where we are expecting the prime minister tojoin screen where we are expecting the prime minister to join the news conference as well, because he is in the flat upstairs. he is not able to come to this room because he is self—isolating right now in line with the regulations themselves, having met some groups of mps recently and one of them tested positive for covid, so the prime minister had to self—isolate. as soon as the prime minister appears, we will be there. as we wait for that, vicki if i bring you back in again, just how much preparation that will have gone into the kind of message the prime minister will want to deliver today? i think the prime minister is there so let's join him

now. covid press conference. i'm joint, i'm glad to say by chris whitty, the medical director and andrew pollard, director of the oxford vaccine group. every week, we find some new scientific breakthrough to help us with covid last week, it was good news about the vaccine from pfizer and then moderna. this morning, we had the good news the astrazeneca oxford vaccine has been highly effective in clinical trials. there are more tests to be done but the signs are this vaccine, financed partly by british taxpayers, working in partnership with a great british company, this vaccine could be both affordable and easy to use and highly effective. we have ordered 100 million doses and thanks to the work of the vaccine does not task force, we have secured more than 350 million doses of vaccines of all

kinds. but we are not out of the woods yet. we can hear the drumming hooves of the cavalry coming over the brow of the hill that they are not here yet. even if all three vaccines are approved, even if the production timetables are met, and vaccines notoriously fall behind in their production timetables, it will be months before we can be sure that we have inoculated everyone that needs vaccine. and those months will be hard, they will be cold, they include january and february when the nhs is under its greatest pressure, and that is why when we come out of lockdown next week, we must not just throw away the gains we have all made. so today, we have published our covid winter plan, which sets out a clear strategy to take the country through to the end of march. we will

continue to bear down hard on this virus. we will use tough cheering —— tough tiering, and those details will be on the government website later this week. when we have the most up—to—date data, we will share details about which your area is going to be in. but i should warn you now that many more places will be in higher tiers than alas was previously the case. we will simultaneously be using the new and exciting possibilities of community testing, as they have done in liverpool. there will be a clear incentive for everyone in areas where virus prevalence is high to get a test, get one of these rapid turnaround lateral flow tests, do your best for the community, get a test to help to squeeze the disease and reduce the restrictions your

town, city, area has endured. that way, through tough tiering and mass community testing, we hope that people see a little more of their family and friends over christmas. now, i know that many of us want and need christmas with our families. we feel this year we deserve it. but this is not the moment to let the virus rip for the sake of christmas parties. it is the season to be jolly but it's also the season to be jolly but it's also the season to be jolly careful. especially with elderly relatives. and working with the devolved administrations, we will set out shortly how we want to get the balance right for christmas and we will be setting that out later this week. christmas this year will be different and we want to

remain prudent through christmas and beyond into the new year. but we will use the three tools that i've described to squeeze the virus in the weeks and months ahead. tiering, testing and the roll—out of vaccines. employing all three techniques together, so as to drive down r and drive down the infection rate. and i really am assured now that things will look and feel very different, indeed, after easter. and that idea of an end goal or date is important because if the promise of the vaccines is fulfilled, we do have something to work for, a timescale, a goal around which businesses can begin tentatively to plan. but with luck and with hard work, we will be seeing improvements before then.

for now, the problem is not a shortage of hope for a lack of optimism, not with the amazing news we are getting from the laboratories in this country. the challenge now, as we face this difficult winter ahead is to fight down any over optimism. to master any tendency to premature celebration of success. that success will come all the faster if we work together to follow the guidance, maintain the basic disciplines as people have done so heroically over the past few months, hands, face, space, get a test if you have symptoms. that is the way we will beat the virus together. i will now hand over to chris whitty to say a little bit about where we are with the vaccine and then to go to andrew pollard. thank you prime minister. in fact, i was only going to say one thing and

that was an absolutely massive thank you to all of those up and down this country every day who are volunteering for studies into covid. some in vaccines, some in drugs, some in testing are many and just trying to understand the disease, because as we've repeatedly said, it is only science that is going to get us is only science that is going to get us out of this hole and people across the uk are contributing enormously to this by volunteering their time, volunteering their expertise, very large numbers of nhs workers, medical research council is, working with the academics and working with the companies. so it is only by this combination of science that we will defeat it and i just wa nted that we will defeat it and i just wanted to thank people from all of us wanted to thank people from all of us that this enormous thing they have done to help us and everybody get out of the covid hole that it

will be a long haul. the main news from today is the remarkably good scientific achievement of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine and professor andrew pollard is the person who can best outline that. thank you very much, chris. it is, i think, a very exciting day for all of us. we are hugely proud of our team in oxford, who have been leading this effort. i think it is important to pay tribute to the 20,000 volunteers that there are in the trials around the world and over 10,000 here in the uk, who have come forward in this uncertain time, feeling an absolute duty to play a part, to help us get back on our feet and perhaps beat the virus. of course, as a lot of uncertainty in joining a clinical trial and i think that all of us, having reached this point today where we have an evidence of the vaccine works, we have a huge debt of gratitude to all

of those people who have taken part. secondly, ijust of those people who have taken part. secondly, i just wanted of those people who have taken part. secondly, ijust wanted to mention all of the researchers. chris pointed out that we have this amazing infrastructure in this country and through the national institute for health research which meant with three weeks notice, i was able to contact 19 trial sites around the uk and research nurses and doctors could come out of the woodwork and come and work on the trail to allow us to move so swiftly this year. i think that is a unique situation that we have in this country, that made it possible to do that. our results today show that in out that. our results today show that in our primary analysis, that's the analysis we've agreed with all the regulators, the vaccine had 70% efficacy, which is fantastic. like we get with the flu vaccines and has the potential to have a really important impact on the pandemic because we also, in the trials, so

i'io because we also, in the trials, so 110 one because we also, in the trials, so no one go into hospital with disease or develop severe disease if they had been vaccinated. we also had these intriguing results which you will have heard reported in the media today, where one arm of our study had much higher efficacy, about 90%. it needs further work to look at it but it's very exciting that there might be a way of immunising with the vaccine that gives even better protection. clearly from today, we have to provide all of the data to the regulators, so that they can scrutinise that very carefully and decide whether it is appropriate to move forward for licensing. we look forward to working with them to provide everything that they need for that purpose in the days and weeks ahead. if they approve it potentially with the dosing regime that could be used and we could have more doses available and we thought, we have a vaccine that can be used

at fridge temperature and for us in oxford this was really important because we want to be able to make sure this can be distributed not just ina sure this can be distributed not just in a country like this where we can manage any form of distribution but around the world. because the virus is notjust a problem in the uk but everywhere. our partnership with astrazeneca has been critical because they agreed with our vision for this of having a not—for—profit approach during the pandemic so no one was profiteering from making a vaccine in this pandemic period and that does mean that part of what we can offer will be the equitable access around the world which is absolutely division that we have from a university. so a great day for us today and for science. that inii for us today and for science. that in 11 months we've been able to pull together all of the data required

that meets the requirements for the regulators to be able to put that in front of them and i hope that we will be part of what could be the end of the problems that we face that you have just been hearing about from the prime minister. i think in the meantime we certainly need to make sure that we protect each other through this period of time. and have access to the new treatments that are coming along. with all of those together i am also optimistic for next year. thanks very much and let's go straight to questions from the public. david from east london. good evening. going back to a localised approach to restrictions again, after the 2nd of december, will not not lead to variable increases in the rate of infections, in disadvantaged areas,

suffering the most? thank you very much, david. obviously we had variable increases and decreases going on right now and one of the interesting things is that in some areas that have been hardest hit and some of the areas that have been of greatest deprivation we are seeing some of the biggest declines in the virus and that i think is thanks to the work of communities in pulling together. i am afraid that since the summer original disparity has been obvious, at the beginning of october we started to see across the country as in much of europe, a pretty universal second wave. what we now wa nt to universal second wave. what we now want to do is to push that rate of infection down to about one orjust

in that area now using this tough tiering to keep pushing it down across the country. that is the best thing for communities everywhere. but chris, andrew, would you like to comment on the issue?” but chris, andrew, would you like to comment on the issue? i think you summarise that completely, the key thing is that people are in the right tiers and the adhered to the guidance and if we do that we can keep things down. thank you, anything to add, andrew? nothing to add. beat from buxton, her question, will there be a plan to close schools an extra week early to allow safe period of time to see elderly, vulnerable relatives at christmas. at the moment we do not plan to do that, one of the things we really attach as a country tuition points

to is keeping kids in school and keeping young people in education wherever we can. that has been at the heart of what we've been trying to do in the last few months and it has meant that we had to put pressure sadly on other sectors in order to drive down transmission. but we believe education is of huge importance and we want to keep kids in school as much as we can. chris or andrew? okay, let's in school as much as we can. chris orandrew? okay, let's go in school as much as we can. chris or andrew? okay, let's go straight to the next question. just to add that i am a paediatrician and i have been working with the royal college of paediatrics and i think that we are absolutely committed to the idea that children should be in school, i think that is an important point that you made. let's go to fergus walsh of the bbc. the roll-out of

this vaccine is going to be much more complex than the annual flu jab, how would you guarantee it is done smoothly and quickly? fergus, you're totally right. and even before we have the approvals for any of these three vaccines, we are looking at exactly how we can strip at it, the immense logistical challenges. a large number of partners will be coming together to deliberate, the nhs clearly, local authorities, the armed services, public health england. we will all be working together, they've all done an outstanding job so far but there is a huge effort to go now. and it is because it is such a big logistical challenge, that is why i wa nted logistical challenge, that is why i wanted to enter this important note of caution. even when we do get

these things it will take a long time before we can get the shots in the arms where they are needed. chris, anything to add? just to add to one of your points, prime minister. it is really critical that we realised that the regulators have a critical role next, the independently will look at whether these vaccines work and independently they will look at whether they are safe. only when they are satisfied in the uk and elsewhere will then be possible for us elsewhere will then be possible for us to say for sure that we can roll these out and then have a plan. andrew, anything to add from your point of view? you have seen how difficult it can be to get vaccines on the market. i think there's a huge logistical challenge but there has been a lot of work in the nhs to

start to prepare for that sol has been a lot of work in the nhs to start to prepare for that so i do not think that we should forget about the efforts already going on that they are putting in at the moment. let's go to robert preston of itv. a question for the prime ministerand of itv. a question for the prime minister and chris whitty, when do you think there will be no tiers and no government regulations constraining as in a social and economic lives and if i may put a question to andrew pollard, if the virus mutates, how easy and fast would it be to adapt the vaccine to immunise against new strains in the way we do for the flue, for example? well as chris just said if we get medical clearance and we can roll it out at a good lick, roll out both

vaccines are all three potentially ata vaccines are all three potentially at a good lick then with a favourable wind we should... this is entirely hypothetical but we should be able to inoculate i believe on the evidence that i'm seeing, the vast majority of the people who need protection by easter. that would make a very substantial change to where we are at the moment. i don't wa nt to where we are at the moment. i don't want to give any more hostages to fortune than that but that is the best information we have.|j fortune than that but that is the best information we have. i would just add to that, i think the way to think about this is science and also the seasons when we get through to spring will help de—risk this infection steadily, step by step and we will be able to pull back from these really oppressive things that we have to do socially and

economically to keep it under control the moment. the virus will not disappear but it will become less risky for society and we will in stages be able to pull back to a point where it is still there and could still cause problems especially in winter months, but we re especially in winter months, but were not having to do the things which cause such difficulties for eve ryo ne which cause such difficulties for everyone and such economic hardship for people. perhaps i will take the question about the mutating virus, i think there is certainly the possibility of the virus mutating and we need to have very good surveillance in place to watch for that and that is already happening around the world, to monitor these strains. of course at the moment there are no vaccines rolls out so there are no vaccines rolls out so the virus is not under pressure to mutate away from the vaccines at the moment. i think if the question is if it did happen and we had no immunity against other parts of the virus which i think is unlikely to be the case, if that did happen and the vaccines we no longer providing

protection, it would for both the moderna and pfizer vaccines and our vaccine, it could be relatively quick. the actual scientific bit is a matter of days to change. then of course there has to be some testing and manufacturing of the new vaccine but really the big step is a discussion with the regulators about whether you need to go through the full process again or whether you can switch quickly. those discussions will need to be had but at the moment we have no licensed vaccines so this is something for the future. let's go to tom from times radio. a question to professor pollard, without wanting you to blow your own trumpet because you're british and oxford is british, you say how much, how better is your vaccine to the pfizer vaccine in terms of distribution and capacity

obviously with the temperature issue,is obviously with the temperature issue, is itjust a better vaccine. and a question to the prime minister and professor pollard, we have 100 million doses of this vaccine but will be get priority, will britain get priority in getting our doses or will we have to wait with the rest of the world as the vaccine shout about all the different countries who signed up to the programme equally? the important thing for having an impact on the pandemic is to have vaccines as early as possible. if we do not roll them out when we have supply, whichever vaccine this is, then it would take longer for us to get there. and for the world is even at this moment with pfizer, madonna and astrazeneca, we do not have enough doses of vaccine so i think the answer to your question is that we need all the vaccines, it is not a competition between them as to which is best but a question of we will

only have an impact on the pandemic once people are vaccinated. that is what we have to get on with.|j once people are vaccinated. that is what we have to get on with. i think we're doing a great thing by supporting the initiative, it is important that the uk should be leading around the world are making sure people get vaccines equitably and in some of the poorest countries in the world but we are also making sure that we have adequate supplies for this country. and thanks to the effo rts for this country. and thanks to the efforts of the vaccines task force, you have the pfizer vaccine, i think 40 you have the pfizer vaccine, i think a0 million by the end of next year. the pfizer biontech vaccine and then oxford astrazeneca about 100 million as part of the 355 million package. soi as part of the 355 million package. so i hesitate to say, to blow our

trumpet in the uk in any particular respect but i think that we are at the front or near the front in provision of vaccines. i think the statistics would bear that out. let's go to sarah bosley of the guardian. it is fantastic news that we have these vaccines. are there any plans for certificates or so—called freedom passes to confirm who has been vaccinated? and if so what could they be used for and is there a possibility of any sort that they could become compulsory to access certain places? and if i may, once we have got vaccination under way what will the public be told that they can do? for instance if we have one with 90% efficacy does that mean that one in ten will not be protected? is there a danger that everyone will think that life is

back to normal and it is safe to go back to normal and it is safe to go back to normal and it is safe to go back to partying? i will ask chris and andrew to comment on your important question about vaccination and the role of the state. let's make it clear, there will be no compulsory vaccination, that's not the way we do things in this country. we think it isa do things in this country. we think it is a good idea and i totally reject the propaganda of the anti—faxes, they are wrong. a vulnerable people, people who need a vaccine should get a vaccine and eve ryo ne vaccine should get a vaccine and everyone should get a vaccine is the owner is available according to the advice of thejoint owner is available according to the advice of the joint committee of vaccination and immunisation. we should be very pro—vaccine. on your sort of idea about, you know... that there is a confusion. what we are suggesting is there might be an iteration between the tiering structure and the mass testing.

there i think there is the potential to encourage people to get a test as a community and work together to squeeze the disease, as liverpool did. it's been really encouraging to see how the people of liverpool really ca m e see how the people of liverpool really came together in large numbers to take the test. we would like to see even bigger proportions of communities taking lateral flow tests to establish whether they are infectious, because we think that could be a way of isolating the positive cases, helping to drive down the rate of infection and so helping that area, that community to move down the tiers, to get rid of some of the restrictions. i hope thatis some of the restrictions. i hope that is clear. it's an iteration between the tiering and get a test to squeeze the disease.” between the tiering and get a test to squeeze the disease. i will start on the vaccination but i think andy

will want to add on this. in the first instance, the data so far is about whether the vaccine protects the person who has been vaccinated. both for this vaccine and for other vaccines. you are absolutely right that no vaccine will be 100% or almost no vaccine will be 100% protection. there is then a question, but that is very important and that will significantly reduce, if these vaccines come through the regulators and once they are in peoples arms, will reduce the number of people who die, the number of people with severe disease and those going to hospital. then there is the possibility that any of these vaccines and indeed new ones coming on, because there are many other vaccines coming through the system, including one is being trialled here in the uk, may actually protect people around the person who is vaccinated because they make it very unlikely that person will either get infected or we'll pass it on to us that we don't know that yet. there are some early hints that might

happen for some infections, that definitely does happen but we can't say that for sure. if that is the case, then getting a vaccination not only protects you but also protects yourfamily, yourfriends, only protects you but also protects your family, your friends, your work colleagues, those around you, but we cannot say that at this point until we have more data. but i think i would like to also just reiterate a point the prime minister has made. it is absolutely the case that either way my advice would be these should be voluntary vaccinations and people should want to take them because they will protect them from a potentially very debilitating and in some cases sadly fatal disease by these vaccines. but i think we need to be clear that there is this additional use that might come through. andy has an early date on this from their vaccine. yes, i certainly agree with the point that none of the vaccines are likely to protect everyone. but one of the interesting features so far across all of the different vaccines is

they do seem to have stopped hospitalisations and severe disease. we only have limited data from press releases so far but that's what it appears to be. so it may be the thing we are really after, which is going back to the initial slogan is about protecting the nhs, it might be that all the vaccines can do that. what is harder is to prevent milder disease and most of the people in all of the trials that have been done have slightly milder infections, which is the bit we can measure the most easily because there are more of them. so when we see the efficacy levels, it is a mixture of dramatic impact against severe disease and slightly less dramatic impact against the milder disease. but all the vaccines have higher efficacy. the hint in the data, there isjust a little hint in the data from ours because we have this amazing set up here in the uk where we have been able to swab over 8000 people in the trials every week. so we can also pick up the

cases of asymptomatic infection and there's a hint in the data that in one of ourgroup there's a hint in the data that in one of our group that had the higher efficacy, we were able to reduce the amount of asymptomatic infection and that may mean there could be fewer people in the population who are spreaders and people in the population who are spreaders and that starts to stop the virus in its tracks if we can get there. but it is only hint at the moment, we need more information. thanks, that's incredibly interesting and possibly encouraging. thank you. paulfrom the having to impose? good evening. you announced the funding third test and trace an increase to 22 billion and trace an increase to 22 billion a year, equivalent to a fifth of the entire annual nhs budget. do you think the current service offers anywhere near a fifth of the benefit of the nhs and can you say how much of the nhs and can you say how much of that money will go on tracing rather than testing? will the bulk of the money go on local public

health test meat tracers rather than private firm like circo. public health england suggested last week for every one day relaxation over christmas, there would be five days of fresh restrictions. do you have a current best estimate for what that estimate might be right now? have sage modelled the increase in cases and deaths on a worst—case scenario that could occur as a result of the loosening at christmas? thanks, paul. i'm going to go back to some stuff i have been saying to you and too many and others about nhs test and trace. of course, a new operation like this is going to have teething problems and there is no doubt that it has and of course people have been frustrated sometimes by the service that they have got and i recognise that. of course i do. but to look at what it is now achieving. the capacity of 500,000 tests a day, it's conducting hundreds of thousands of tests and

37 million tests have now been done. more than any other european country. you are right to raise the issue of collaboration with local authorities. that is integral to what we're doing, what the nhs test and traces doing. i think there are 198 local authority teams and as we go forward, the work local authorities and others, we've mentioned the armed services are probably helping and so on, will be crucial. i just want to stress, you say is it value? it's of such importance and such value because if we don't have it, we can't know where the disease is prevalent in the way that we do. we have fantastic granular detail which enables us to have this tiering system, this regionalfocused, locally focused tiering system that we've got. and it enables people who have symptoms to get a test and find out whether they've got it or not and thereby to take themselves out

of circulation. that's absolutely crucial and the point we are trying to make this evening is we can see the light at the end of the tunnel but we are not there yet. we can see the oasis but there is a long way to go. i don't want to mix my seasonal metaphors! it's... go. i don't want to mix my seasonal metaphors! it's. .. there go. i don't want to mix my seasonal metaphors! it's... there will be ha rd metaphors! it's... there will be hard months ahead. we are going to rely very much on testing and tracing and we are going to ramp that up. the pcr testing is invaluable. the lab tests in nhs settings is also absolutely crucial to drive down infections in hospitals. infections that played such a part in the spread of the disease in the spring and of course, the whole lateral flow testing, rapid turnaround tests which i think can be of great value. it would be a

huge mistake now for us to deemphasise testing at this crucial moment. if anything, we want to put more emphasis on testing, encourage people to get a test. get a test if you have symptoms, get a test of your community as a high prevalence area and help to squeeze the disease. one thing i would add to what others have said, it is pretty obvious i think to anybody that the christmas holiday period, the loosening around that, which i think eve ryo ne welco m es loosening around that, which i think everyone welcomes as an ability for families to come together and all the things that go with the winter period, we all know that that is going to come at a risk. and the amount of risk in it depends on three things: how seriously people stick to the tears before we go into christmas, making sure we keep the numbers coming down the stop —— migrate how people stick to the tiers. how people over christmas

ta ke tiers. how people over christmas take the opportunities that take them incredibly responsibly. then coming out of the christmas period, again, people take this next period which the prime minister has talked about, the period to spring incredibly seriously and we are very, very mindful of the fact that if we start breaking all the rules, then we are putting other people at risk at a point of the year when these viruses transmit most easily and when the nhs is under greatest pressure. it's essential people are really serious about this. in terms of putting a number on it, to be honest, i wouldn't put a number on it because if people do all those things very seriously, we will have much less impact on christmas, whilst people still being able to enjoy, than if people choose to actually take a very much less public spirited approach to it and go wild over that period. so i think what we really need to do is say look, if everyone is serious before, during and after we can minimise the amount of impact it will have. of course, it will have an impact and

thatis course, it will have an impact and that is accepted. it is all part of the balance of having to keep the virus under control but trying to do so in the way that is the lowest socially and economically damaging. it very difficult balance as we'll know which has no perfect answer, it's trying to get the balance as best we can between these competing difficulties. thank you so much. the daily record? good evening, prime minister. what is the score with the christmas holidays? final agreements seems christmas holidays? final agreements seems to be stuck in a no man's land between you and the devolved governments nicola sturgeon once a small number of people to meet for a small number of people to meet for a small number of days. few days than you, perhaps. is there a devolved tail wagging the westminster dog here? what are the chances of peace and goodwill between the two of you? well, as ever, the absence of peace and goodwill is grossly overstated by those who might have reasons to

do so. actually, there is a very good discussion going on between us and the das on how to do this. everybody has relatives in all parts of the country and we want to make sure we have a solution for christmas that everybody can share and understand and respect throughout the whole of the uk. but to get to your characterisation, you know... i mean, everybody shares your caution. we want people to be able to celebrate but we don't want to ruin it by overdoing it. so i think there is a wide agreement about that. i think you can probably expect some news about the way forward pretty soon. ok, everybody, u nless forward pretty soon. ok, everybody, unless there is anything anyone wa nts to unless there is anything anyone wants to add? can ijust add on that last point, i have the privilege of

working very closely with my opposite number, my colleagues in wales, scotland and northern ireland. i had a meeting with them to discuss christmas. we learn from one another, that's what it's all about, learning from one another and bringing skills across the uk to learn about this virus and achieve the best outcomes for the public. thank you very much, that's what we are all going. thank you all and see you next time. thank you. there we have it, that was the news conference live at 10 downing street. the prime minister was appearing, along with professor chris whitty and andrew pollard from the oxford vaccine group. quite a lot of points raised there, not least about this very exciting new vaccine that oxford and astrazeneca have delivered. of course, real big emphasis on the fact that it needs to go through the regulator. that will take some time. then the prime minister addressing some points about the tier system in england

which will kick back and in the 2nd of december. we will also be reflecting on the next few minutes on the situation in scotland, wales and northern ireland. we can go to oxford because that is where we join our medical editor, fergus walsh. i'm just wondering, our medical editor, fergus walsh. i'mjust wondering, given our medical editor, fergus walsh. i'm just wondering, given that you are there right at the heart of the action today, you asked a very forthright question about roll—outs and said this is going to be a complex process. the prime minister said that he was hoping that the vast majority of people who need protection would be done by easter. so first of all, how would you define that? secondly, did the question that you asked on roll—out get the answer you thought it would? i expect that the prime minister to agree it would be complex but thinking about the annual flu vaccine that is a single jab and here we are asking adults to have a couple of doses one month apart and thatis couple of doses one month apart and that is tens of millions of people. and the target was perhaps a million

people per week. it will take a long time to get to all of the people who required doses and then we had the idea about vaccine hesitancy. are people going to come forward and actually have the vaccine? remarkably we have three vaccines that appear to be both effective and safe but it remains to be seen whether people will roll up their sleeves. the vaccine seem to work well and certainly those from pfizer and madonna we have a suggestion is they work well in the elderly and they work well in the elderly and the oxford vaccine produces a good immune response in the elderly but we have to wait and see but it is possible we may have some immunisation and if the regulators approve before christmas then maybe approve before christmas then maybe a bit before the end of the year but most of the immunisation is going to start in january. most of the immunisation is going to start injanuary. but it will be a mammoth task. one final point, lots

of people at home i am sure will think 0k of people at home i am sure will think ok we understand the caution, of course the regulators need to do a thoroughjob of course the regulators need to do a thorough job but surely we would not get to this stage with these announcements unless the oxford team and everyone else were very confident to put it mildly that the regulators will put this through? absolutely and i think that the regulators will put through and i've been following the work here in this building for more than 20 years and i know that great care and attention that the team put into creating their vaccines and the care and attention they have towards all the volu nteers attention they have towards all the volunteers who are part of the trials. so i think it is very likely that they are confident the vaccine will be improved. —— approved. but it is not just will be improved. —— approved. but it is notjust a rubberstamp, we could get the decision quickly but it is what they do that properly because no one wants to see decision

thatis because no one wants to see decision that is rushed and later regretted. fergus walsh, thank you very much. he is in oxford there, the home of the scientists at the heart of this exciting discovery. and of course pa rt exciting discovery. and of course part of the story has been that we are talking about 70% efficiency. and some viewers are asking why i some mentioning 90%? the reason for thatis some mentioning 90%? the reason for that is that almost by accident sign to say when they altered the dosage of the vaccine they discovered that actually they could get the efficiency up to 90%. that was an almost accidental discovery but all pa rt almost accidental discovery but all part of the story coming out today. the prime minister was also keen to stress that he would not be backing away he said from maintaining extreme caution over the christmas period although he understood why people were frustrated with the restriction still in place. with

that in mind we can go back to westminster and speak to vicki young. we spoke about how he would calibrate the message, what did you make of it? interesting, there was real optimism in the government of course about the vaccination and the roll—out of mass testing but they are trying to be cautious as well and just do not want people to get carried away. a lot of the press conference really seemed like an appeal to people to please be sensible and even if they do manage to lift these restrictions over the christmas period for a few days the message isjust do not christmas period for a few days the message is just do not go too far. and actually it really is going to depend on the next few weeks in the run—up to christmas and then also after that all the way through to easter if people follow the rules that will allow some listening over christmas. but clearly they are concerned that by allowing people a little bit of room that they take too much and it sets back all the

work and of course the problem laid out by chris football as we are in the winter season which is more pressure on the nhs, was for people suffering from coronavirus and so this really is a moment of danger. they are just trying to keep that balance and trying to get people to remember that although there is some hope it is not over and we are going to know that very starkly on thursday when across england places will be told the restriction is that they will be under and they will still be tough restrictions and the prime minister was also clear that more areas would be in the top tiers. where for example hospitality in tier3 tiers. where for example hospitality in tier 3 will only be able to serve ta ke in tier 3 will only be able to serve take a ways and that is going to have a huge impact. we know warnings about businesses going under and this is not over yet and i think on wednesday as well when the chancellor gets up to tell people about the economic cost it will be very clear indeed. on those points, we have discussed in recent weeks

that some colleagues of the prime minister in government and the back benches have been very unhappy with the insistence that this tier system needs to be in place and now we are saying, the prime minister made this clear, there will be more places under even tougher restrictions. is he likely to get some travel from collea g u es he likely to get some travel from colleagues in this? a large number of them have already been to him saying they do not agree with this and want to see more evidence firstly that it works. without signs are set up the tier system was not stringent enough and the government would say that now tighten that up. there are many conservative mps, some in areas where the number of cases is not particularly high and they think it needs to be even more targeted not just entire they think it needs to be even more targeted notjust entire counties or entire boroughs but that it should be much more detailed locally than that because they're such a big in the amount of cases. so that's a problem and of course there are

desperately worried about the economic impact and as i say that will be laid out very starkly on wednesday. and really wants this coronavirus, we will be living with this for a long time but if lockdowns become a thing of the past i think what is really pressing for those particularly in the treasury is the impact and ramifications of the economic problems that could go on for much longer. vicki young, many thanks. i want to pick up on that ongoing impact on the high street and on the economy in a week when the chancellor will make his statement on wednesday on the latest tier system in england as well on thursday. sarah caulker are business correspondent is in manchester. just brings up to date on the of mood there is given the current restrictions and the fact that many areas will find themselves on thursday under even tougher measures? the christmas decorations

are up in manchester city centre shops across england are now gearing up shops across england are now gearing up to reopen next week. for retailers that has come as a huge relief, they are banking on the festive rush. as you say there are still challenging times ahead for the hospitality sector, pubs and restau ra nts a nd the hospitality sector, pubs and restaurants and their suppliers will be hit hard by these ongoing restrictions. in tier 3 areas hotels, bars, restaurants, cinemas, bowling alleys, they must remain closed. wedding receptions will be banned and food and drink businesses will only be able to do deliveries and takea will only be able to do deliveries and take a ways. in tier 2 only pubs serving substantial meals will be allowed to reopen and hassle of mixing indoors will be banned. so what this means is basically the christmas party season effectively is off for businesses in those areas. and that is really starving

the purpose of that vital christmas trade. the hospitality sector have said that they've invested millions of pounds in making sure that their premises are safe and they say that these restrictions are unfair. they have long argued that they are covid secure and actually safer to socialise than people gathering in private households and the uk hospitality group representing the industry have said that a million jobs will be at risk because of these tougher restrictions. they say that some businesses just will not survive this latest economic shock. one positive for the hospitality industry, they welcome state the scrapping of the ten o'clock curfew sold bars and restaurants in those tier1 areas will be allowed to stay open until 11pm. that means they will be able to get that second setting of diners in which they could not do under the curfew. but

there are some tough times ahead. many thanks for that update from manchester. and just to underline again the prime minister of course was talking in terms of the tier system in england because the four nations of the uk are taking their own separate view of how these restrictions should work in their separate nations. with that in mind i would like to go to sarah smith in glasgow. sarah, of course there has been quite a lot of debate about the way the scottish government has been adapting its own approach to this pandemic. given the prime minister stresses the tier system in england and we are talking about more corporation leading up to christmas, what does that look like to you? as you say we have quite a different system in scotland, instead of three tiers we have five levels and level

four is quite restrictive, almost the same as the long term period thatis the same as the long term period that is coming to an end in england. the school is open butjust about every other kind of business shut and that covers glasgow and surrounding areas at the moment. in scotla nd surrounding areas at the moment. in scotland we have not gone into a series of type national measures like in england so we have different levels and in other parts of scotla nd levels and in other parts of scotland people can go out for a meal or go to the m1. and that is quite a different system from what is operating in any of the other four uk nations. so the devolved governments are speaking to each other to develop a common approach. we got a few clues from the prime minister and a few more from nicola sturgeon this afternoon as well. she said that they are hoping to slightly relax the restrictions to allow some households to form larger bubbles so they are able to see more loved ones over the christmas period but it is not going to be extensive. fewer than four hassles will be

allowed to get together she said. that would be a maximum of three. and it sounds as though once you have formed a kind of extended bubble for the christmas period, that will be it, you will not be able to see more people on successive days over the christmas period. we will get more detail on that later. difficult to work out a common approach when each country in the uk has its own separate set of rules but it is necessary because we know people will travel all over the uk at christmas to see relatives, to see their loved ones and so unless we have the same set of rules apply for the christmas period it is just not going to work. many thanks and on that point about the common approach we can go to our wales correspondent. we know that they met last week and met again today, the welsh cabinet i'm told a meeting again tomorrow so it has not yet

been signed off. today the health minister said the idea floated over the weekend of perhaps three days of freedom and five days of freedom, three familiesjoin freedom and five days of freedom, three families join in a bubble, freedom and five days of freedom, three familiesjoin in a bubble, he said that was kite flying and nothing has been signed offjust yet but he did suggest we could be there may be within a day or maybe by tomorrow night we could be talking about a joint approach to christmas. but between now and then right now wales is probably the least restricted by the uk, the firebreak blocked and finished a fortnight ago, the buyers are open here, the gyms are open and shops over the weekend have been really busy. the fabric was followed by a slight downturn in numbers of cases but just in the last couple of days are warning that in some places in wales the numbers have begun to rise. so the numbers have begun to rise. so the welsh government talk about perhaps having to go back to some more restrictions before christmas but not local lockdown is, what we might get is some coming into line with parts of england. maybe some of

the measures talked about, perhaps pubs potentially serving only alcohol with a meal. we will not have those tiers within wales, it will be one system with the nation, not original approach but maybe moving towards christmas there could be more coordination between england and wales. many people live the lives of course on either side of the border. thank you very much. let's go to emma friday in belfast. again just the route towards a common approach, what can you say from northern ireland? were the first minister and deputy first minister have been discussing all this with westminster, not yet clear what has been nailed down but of course for northern ireland many people here will want to mix with relatives across the island of ireland over christmas so the stormont executive is also speaking to the dublin governmentjust to

find out for people may be how many places they need to set around the christmas table and what that will look like. the situation in northern ireland is from friday we're going back into two week's breaker, all nonessential shops will be closing once again and this time time school staying open. it is a blow for business during what will be the busiest months of the year and as a result of the weekend we have seen a hugely busy weekend on the high street, massive queues outside shops and people rushing out to do their christmas shopping knowing that from friday the shops, nonessential shops will not open again until mid—december. the news today from stormont was ministers agreed a new financial package to help support businesses, more grants and grants for things like councils and sports clu bs for things like councils and sports clubs and in particular scheme announced today, a voucher many households, £200 for each household

to spend at the high street to help local retailers with the idea being once shops open up again further down the line that £200 voucher will help grow the economy again here. that went down pretty well with consumers today! time to take on board so the pile of questions viewers have sent in on all kinds of aspects of today's news, not just the all kinds of aspects of today's news, notjust the vaccine, but also on the restrictions that will be in place in england on the second december. colleagues mention the different positions in need devolved countries. we try to filter the questions down and many are overlapping. with the help of my colleague, we will go through some of them. i had a go earlier, and i'm probably going to get into trouble for it, do try to explain the difference between 70% efficacy and

90% efficacy. tom sent in a question saying, why are people using these two figures? what is your answer to that? it is confusing because the other vaccines who have reported data have said this is how effective we have found it. here they looked at two different ways of giving it. one way was giving arthur days and then a full days and they found that was about 90% effective. —— half a dose. this is where the average has come out at about 70%. with all the figures flying around, the important thing to think is is this good enough? yes. it is highly effective. the target was about 50%. one more bit of context. flu jabs are generally about a0 to 60% effective each year, so this is good news. brian says, after vaccination, how long before we achieve some protection? what is the kind of guidance we are getting? on this

trial they gave one dose, waited for weeks, gave another dose, then two weeks, gave another dose, then two weeks after that they assessed it. that is six weeks in total. in the real world , that is six weeks in total. in the real world, once you give a vaccine like this, the body starts a immune response quickly and that builds over time.. colleen asks, can you still carry the virus and infect people after you have had the vaccine? yes, that is one part of it, the other part is that this vaccine is not 100% effective. there is another thing. in the press conference we saw the experts talk about this and they were saying that essentially their data today is showing how effective this vaccine is. in other words, showing how effective this vaccine is. in otherwords, how showing how effective this vaccine is. in other words, how good it is at preventing people from getting sick with coronavirus. the most dramatic effect they found were stopping severe sickness and slightly less dramatic for mild sickness. what they do not know for certain yet, but they are starting to see some positive hints, is about how it affects spread and

transmission. we often use the phrase, a sum to matted transmission, in other words, phrase, a sum to matted transmission, in otherwords, people who do not —— a symptomatically infection. the signs are hopeful on that. margaret says, will those who have already had covid—19 need the vaccine? yes. we do not know yet. you know you will have some immunity in your body and that is because the research, this is such a new virus, only goes on for six months. at some stage the annuity will wane and it is worth having it again. the immunity will wane. more for you on bbc one and bbc news at 10pm. we will look at the vaccine itself and the news on it today. also be taking you through the latest restrictions that boris johnson you through the latest restrictions that borisjohnson is announcing and more details on that on thursday. for now, thank you very much for watching and goodbye.

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