Vaccine rollout is a heroic triumph of national teamwork

‘Several of the key figures had experience far beyond Whitehall’

- Leo McKinstry

THE scale of the challenge was daunting, the potential for catastrophe enormous. Yet Britain’s vaccination programme – by far the biggest medical mission in our history – has been an astonishing success.

From the moment that 91-year-old Coventry pensioner Maggie Keenan received the first jab in December, the whole initiative has been characterized by remarkable efficiency. Other countries have looked on with envy. Government critics have been silenced.

Yesterday, another milestone was reached – the NHS had met its mid-February target for inoculating the 15 million people at the highest risk from Covid.

A quarter of the adult population has now received the vaccine, a far higher level than that of any other major nation. As the program now moves on to its next phase, we are already seeing significant falls in Covid hospital admissions, rates of infection, and the death toll.

So the way may finally be open to starting easing the lockdown in early March.

This achievement is all the more impressive, given the difficulties that plagued the Government’s initial response to Covid, such as the botched supply of PPE and the inadequacy of the testing regime.