LONDON, Feb 12 — Britain closed in Friday on a mid-February target to offer coronavirus vaccinations to 15 million of its most vulnerable people, raising hopes that a grinding lockdown could be eased.

More than 13.5 million people have been given a jab since the world-first immunisation programme began in early December, with a daily average of 431,232 receiving a vaccine last week.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to offer jabs to all top four priority groups—which includes over-70s, care home residents and some key workers—by the end of this week.

The devolved government in Wales, which controls its own health policy, said it will reach its target of vaccinating the top four categories on Friday.

Figures showed nearly 22 percent of people in Wales have been vaccinated, compared to 20.3 percent in England, 19.2 percent in Scotland and 18.7 percent in Northern Ireland.

The UK government in London, which is responsible for sourcing vaccines, is next aiming to have offered jabs to all over-50s by May and the entire adult population by September.

Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford said the successful vaccine rollout combined with falling infection rates could soon allow for some restrictions to be lifted "carefully and cautiously”. 

"We can see a path into the spring where it will be possible for us to go back to doing some of the things that we’re all missing so much,” he told the BBC.

Infection rates have dropped markedly across Britain over recent weeks, as strict lockdown measures have curbed previously spiralling case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths.

The Office for National Statistics’ latest infection survey released Friday showed new cases decreasing in nearly every region of England, where it estimates around one in 80 people had the virus last week.

In early January it was as high as one in 50.

Reopening ‘roadmap’ 

The improving situation has prompted calls for the stay-at-home rules to be lifted in early March.

Johnson has vowed to review all relevant data next week, ahead of setting out the government’s "roadmap” for the months ahead on February 22.

"We will set out a gradual and phased approach towards easing the restrictions in a sustainable way,” his spokesman told reporters, noting it would include plans "for reopening schools and gradually reopening our economy and society”.

But he added Britain remained "in a difficult situation” with its state-run health service still under very significant pressure.

Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, one of the government’s most high-profile scientific advisers, said the country was now "in a better place than I might have anticipated a month ago”.

Johnson will "have some bandwidth” to start reopening primary schools in early March before potentially easing other restrictions the following month, he said.

But Ferguson cautioned against moving too hastily.

"If we relax too quickly without seeing the effect of each stage of relaxation, we may do what we’ve done before and relax too much, see a surge in case numbers, and still need to tighten up measures again,” he told Politico’s "Westminster Insider” podcast.

The government is also facing pressure from some of its own lawmakers.

Mark Harper, who chairs the Covid Recovery Group of Conservative MPs, believes there is no case for lockdown once the most vulnerable have been inoculated.

"Vaccinating the top 9 vulnerability groups will reduce Covid deaths by 99 per cent & Covid hospitalisations by about 80 per cent,” he said on Twitter. 

"After we have protected all those vulnerable people, what arguments remain to keep any legal restrictions in place?” — AFP