Contributions
1,745 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI was referring to lateral flow tests earlier, but I think the hon. Lady asked me about PCR tests. I will look into what she said.13 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateIt is an important to make sure that capacity is increased throughout the country. I am pleased that the hon. Member has got boosted, by the way, but she is right to say that she,…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is exactly the purpose of the plans we have set out and the measures we will be debating in the House tomorrow, and also of the action we…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateOn NHS capacity, since March 2020 there has been a significant increase in ICU capacity. My hon. Friend will know that most beds in hospitals are still for people who need…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI assure the hon. Lady that there are plenty of vaccines available. We have no issue with vaccine supply, including the booster shots. The lateral flow tests from the UKHSA will…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI will look into whether it can be made even easier for people to access lateral flow tests, but I hope the hon. Lady was reassured when I said that we have plenty of these tests…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy right hon. Friend makes a very important point about the non-covid health impacts of these measures and of the measures we had in the past. She makes a very fair point about…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateOf course everyone should follow the rules—no one is above the rules. The hon. Lady refers to the exchange that took place earlier in Prime Minister’s questions; the Prime…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI very much agree with my hon. Friend. He is right to point to the huge importance, more than ever, of the pharmaceutical defences—let us call them that—against this pandemic. Top…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateFirst, I hope that my hon. Friend will agree with me that one of the reasons for these measures is precisely to avoid a lockdown. We all want to see a lockdown avoided for all the…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWhen we set out plan B for the autumn and winter in respect of the challenges we would face, whether from covid or flu, we set out in that plan how and why we thought vaccine…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWe work very closely across the UK, and the positive output from that work has been evident throughout the pandemic, especially on vaccinations and antivirals. We will continue to…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateThe hon. Lady may know that, in making decisions on vaccines, the UK Government take advice from both the vaccine taskforce and the experts on the Joint Committee on Vaccination…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI understand the importance of my hon. Friend’s point. First, we all know that in South Africa, where we believe this variant originated, we are seeing significant…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend is right to point to the importance of vaccinating everyone, and especially to the risk to pregnant women. A huge amount of work has gone on in the last few months…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWhen it comes to travel measures such as the recent announcements in respect of the red list, I think the hon. Gentleman will understand why the Government took that action to buy…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend makes an important point. There is nothing more important in our society than our children. As a nation we have, like many other nations, learned a lot during the…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWhen it comes to case numbers, we should be cautious about making straightforward comparisons between countries, not least because different countries have different ways to…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWhen it comes to the exit strategy—this is a very important question from my right hon. Friend—a number of factors are at play. The one that I would point to that is possibly the…08 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend is absolutely right to point to the non-covid impact of these measures, which I mentioned earlier. She is right to point to emotional distress and mental health…08 Dec 2021