argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Siobhan Kathleen Baillie (Conservative, Centre-right): Many businesses in Gloucestershire are gutted to be placed in tier 4. This makes the roll-out of the vaccine even more important. However, there is a worrying increase in anti-vax information in Stroud that is causing a lot of distress and upset for local people. It is appalling that our Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had to spend its precious time during this pandemic defending itself against films on social media that were wrongly claiming that the hospital is empty. Will the Secretary of State assist me to reassure Stroud about the vaccines and encourage people not to share covid information from unofficial sources to stop this dangerous, damaging and disrespectful behaviour?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I strongly agree with my hon. Friend, who speaks very powerfully about the need for proper, authorised information about these vaccines, which save lives. We have been very careful to ensure that the independent regulator makes the decision on how these vaccines should be deployed, and indeed whether they should be deployed, and it is confident in their safety and their efficacy. It is that information, and all the information that is set out by the NHS, that people should look to if they have questions—if they want to know how and why the vaccine works, and who it should be used for. I pay tribute to all those who work in the hospitals of Gloucestershire. It is hard work at the moment in the NHS. Rates of coronavirus in Gloucestershire have really shot up over just the past two or three weeks, and unfortunately that is why we have had to take the action that we have on restrictions. I want to thank all of the NHS for doing all the work that it has been doing over Christmas and will have to do over the weeks ahead.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not sure that the hon. Lady was listening when I said in my statement that the NHS is under very significant pressure. Of course we are working hard to ensure that that pressure is alleviated as much as possible. Over the summer, we built significant extra capacity into the critical care facilities of the NHS, including across London. The Nightingale hospitals are there, as she puts it, as an insurance policy—as back-up. The London Nightingale hospital is there on standby as back-up. I have seen some stories circulating saying that it has been decommissioned. Those stories are wrong. It is better for people if they are treated inside a hospital, but the Nightingales are there for extra support should it be needed. It will require changes to the working patterns of staff if we do need to have patients in the Nightingales once more, but it is crucial, in my view, that we have those Nightingales there ready in case we need them.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): I can confirm to my right hon. Friend that Essex has declared a major incident. It is also, at this very moment, submitting a MACA—military aid to the civil authorities—request to assist with the construction of community hospitals for additional hospital capacity, supported and partly staffed by the armed forces. It would also like armed forces help with the roll-out of the vaccine to accelerate that in Essex and to assist with testing in schools. Will he look into the German BioNTech test as an alternative to the lateral flow test, as it is as reliable as the PCR—polymerase chain reaction test—and turns around in one hour?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I will absolutely look into, and get back to my hon. Friend about, the BioNTech test. Of course, BioNTech is an absolutely fabulous pharmaceutical company, as the whole House knows. What he says about the pressures in Essex is very significant, and it is important. Of course, I will look favourably on any request for military assistance, working closely with my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary, who has been incredibly supportive, as have the whole armed forces, during this whole year. They have done so much. They are already involved in the roll-out of testing, as my hon. Friend knows, and we draw on the ingenuity, reserve and sheer manpower of the armed forces when we need them. I am very grateful for my hon. Friend’s support for the work that we all need to do in Essex to support the NHS there and to try to get the number of cases down.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, absolutely. This is a UK vaccine that is being deployed across the UK fairly, according to clinical need. I spoke to my opposite number in Northern Ireland this morning, and I can confirm that, across Northern Ireland, the roll-out of the Oxford vaccine will start on Monday 4 January, as with the rest of the United Kingdom of course. We cannot give timelines on when any roll-out will be completed, because it does depend on the delivery schedule and the manufacturing schedule of the vaccine, but the good news is that we have on order enough approved vaccines now to ensure that every adult who wants one can have the vaccine, and that is true right across Northern Ireland and the whole of Great Britain.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Ruth Rosamond Edwards (Conservative, Centre-right): This is a bittersweet day for us here in Rushcliffe: we have the great news of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine approval, on which I congratulate my right hon. Friend and everyone involved, but we are confronted with the depressing reality of going into tier 4. Could my right hon. Friend tell me when the new vaccine will start to be administered to my constituents in Rushcliffe, and will the easier handling requirements enable the roll-out to be sped up so that we can start to get back to normal as quickly as possible?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. My hon. Friend catches my emotions as well, and I am sure the emotions of most of the House, in that we have this extra and new hope of a vaccine, but we also have some very difficult weeks between now and when it is rolled out to protect the most vulnerable. The extension of the time interval needed between the two doses from about three or four weeks to 12 weeks means that we will be able to inoculate more people with the first dose. The news that the first dose is effective in protecting people is very good news, because it means that we can speed up the roll-out and we can all get out of this situation faster than we otherwise would have been able to, and we can save more lives along the way. So that is good news, but I absolutely appreciate my hon. Friend’s emotional turmoil because it is also tough, especially across Nottinghamshire and the other places that have had to go into tier 4. The message is really clear, which is that help is on its way—it is here in the form of the vaccine—but we have to get through the next few months with the minimum pressure on the NHS and keeping the virus under control until then.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Mark James Harper (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State, with his announcement, has effectively locked down most of England. In a previous interview with Andrew Marr, he said we will effectively be staying in that place until the vaccines are rolled out On this morning’s excellent news about the AstraZeneca vaccine, the chief executive of that company said that it could produce up to 2 million doses a week if the Government’s ambitious schedule for rolling it out could match that. Will the Secretary of State match it so we can get everyone over 65, which is nearly 90% of those at risk of death and hospitalisation, done in seven weeks, by the third week of February, and we can then remove these restrictions? Every focus of the Government now has to be on that task. It is the central, overriding task of government. Are the Government up to doing it?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I am absolutely delighted to be able to agree with every single word that my right hon. Friend says. He and I have not always agreed on every dot and cross of the policy on how to handle this pandemic but, regarding how we get out of it from here, it sounds like we are aligned on needing to roll out this vaccine as fast as possible The NHS can deliver at the pace my right hon. Friend mentions if we can get the manufacturing up to that speed. Of course, we are working with AstraZeneca to make that happen. I was on the radio at the same time as the chief executive this morning, and I was delighted to hear his commitments. AstraZeneca has worked so hard to make this happen and, crucially, we have to protect the most vulnerable. The fact that only one dose is needed to give protection is incredibly helpful, and that way we can get rid of these blasted restrictions as soon as possible.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I will absolutely arrange a meeting between the vaccine roll-out Minister, the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), and the right hon. Gentleman to look into that case in particular. Around seven in 10 of the vaccines deployed so far have gone to those over 80. The rest have gone to NHS and care home staff, and to some residents in older persons’ care homes who are under the age of 80. We are deploying the Pfizer jab to older people right now, and we have to do that as fast as possible to make sure that, when there are cases such as the one he raises, we get it sorted.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Mark Andrew Menzies (Conservative, Centre-right): I begin by joining the Secretary of State in thanking those in the NHS for the work they are doing at this incredible time. I also recognise that he has never shirked from taking really tough decisions, and that has no doubt saved lives I have many care homes in Fylde, including lots of small care homes, family-run care homes and assisted-living homes. Can the Secretary of State assure me that work is being done to ensure that we can get the vaccine into those small care homes very quickly and speedily in the coming weeks?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, absolutely. My hon. Friend is kind in what he says, and I am grateful for his support for the approach that we have taken throughout the pandemic—I really appreciate it. As he says, it is precisely in order to save lives that we have taken the actions that we have. It has been harder to get the Pfizer jab to the smaller care homes because of the minus 70° storage requirements. That is much easier with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and today the NHS has written to GPs who are running the vaccines programme to stress the importance of getting the vaccine to care home residents and staff as soon as possible.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to thank Nigel Watson and all his colleagues who have delivered this fantastic effort across Hampshire. It is true that the current rate-limiting factor on the roll-out of the vaccine is the supply of the approved vaccine. Not only do we need to have it manufactured and in the country, but each batch needs to be checked, because it has to be in pristine condition. The worst thing we could do is inject someone with something that we think is vaccine, but does not work because it has not been stored properly. That takes time We have 530,000 doses of the AstraZeneca jab ready to go, and they will be deployed from Monday. In addition, we have over 3 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine that are ready, because we needed to hold one dose back. Once we move to the 12-week window for dosage—for the Pfizer vaccine, too—which has been recommended today by the regulator and by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, we will be able to roll those out. That will happen through January, rather than immediately. The end result of all that is that we can significantly accelerate the roll-out of the vaccine programme.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I totally understand why people want the answer to that question, because of the hope that the vaccine gives us. What I can tell the hon. Lady is that the speed of the roll-out will be determined by the speed of manufacture. While we have 530,000 doses ready to go from Monday, we also need to make sure that we receive more approved doses. We are working closely with AstraZeneca on that, as we have with Pfizer. That is what will determine the speed of the roll-out. The NHS has a plan, and it is ready to go.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): I have nothing but praise for the NHS workers who have been rolling out the vaccination programme thus far, but many of my elderly and vulnerable constituents have had to queue for more than an hour after their appointed hour for vaccination. Will my right hon. Friend confirm what those many people who have already had the first dose of the vaccine should do about the second dose? Should they attend at their appointed hour, or should they wait for a new appointment in several weeks’ time?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Those with appointments before 4 January should attend their appointment, and those with appointments from 4 January onwards will have them rescheduled. I understand that that will, obviously, require effort, especially in primary care, and that some people are looking forward to their second dose. However, the overriding health priority and all the clinical advice is that, because we can get protection after the first dose of the vaccine, in order to save lives we need to move to the 12-week window rather than the three-week window that we had with the Pfizer jab On people queuing and the need to make sure that that system is as efficient as possible, I have not heard about that happening elsewhere in the country. If I may, I will arrange a meeting between my hon. Friend and the vaccine roll-out Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), to make sure that we can get to the bottom of it and that things are running as smoothly as possible in Harrow.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
David Anthony Andrew Amess (Conservative, Centre-right): On this glorious and momentous Brexit day, I celebrate with others that another vaccine has been approved. Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking all NHS providers in Southend for their heroic efforts throughout the pandemic? As a result of the increased number of infections, will he and his splendid team see what further help they can give us, particularly with delivering the new vaccine?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, of course. The Brexit deal that the House has just passed with such an enormous majority will help to support UK life sciences. This vaccine also shows what we can achieve as a country. We work with international partners, absolutely, but this shows what we can achieve with British science, British industry and the British Government all working together, and with the NHS, to make this happen. I will absolutely work with my hon. Friend to support the NHS in Southend, which is under pressure. The case rate is very, very high in Southend. I say to everybody in Southend that the single thing that they can do is to limit all social contact unless it is absolutely necessary. It is not a nice thing to have to say and it is not easy to do, but it is absolutely necessary in Southend.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): We have not set that out yet, because while our general approach is to vaccinate, as soon as possible, as many as possible of those who are vulnerable to this disease, and to then be able to lift restrictions, as I said in my answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), the exact timing depends on the roll-out of the vaccine and its impact on bringing down the rate of transmission. The change in the dosage schedule from four weeks to 12 weeks means that we can get the protection to as many people as possible sooner, and in a more accelerated way, than we would previously have been able to do.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative, Centre-right): The approval by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is great news at the end of a truly wretched year. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the speed of roll-out should be governed only by the rate of vaccine production? Will he assure me that his Department will cut through all and any pettifogging rules and bureaucracy to ensure that newly retired nurses and doctors, or those on career breaks, can be approved as vaccinators, so that the only limiting factor is vaccination production, not the availability of vaccinators or locations?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, that is our goal. We changed the law to enable more people to inject vaccines and we have a big training programme on now. At the moment, it is the supply that is the rate-limiting step. We want to increase the rate of supply and the NHS’s capacity to deliver it at the same time.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): The ability of the Oxford vaccine to be easily transported makes a huge difference, because it means we can take it to care homes—we can take the vaccine to the people—rather than the other way round for those who are immobile. Of course, for people who find it easy to travel, it is much more efficient to do it the other way round, so we will have a combination of community roll-out where we take the vaccine to the people and vaccination hubs where people come to get vaccinated. It is all based, as per my previous answer, on optimising the speed of delivery of the vaccine. That is what will both save lives and get us out of the restrictions as fast as possible.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): We will vaccinate NHS and social care staff as soon as we can. They are, of course, in the priority list. They are in priority group 2, except for social care home staff, who are in priority group 1. The groups are all set out according to clinical need. That is the basis on which we will vaccinate. We will also vaccinate at pace, which often means that spare vaccines that are left at the end of the day in a hospital or primary care setting are used to vaccinate staff who are to hand, where that can be done. That is being done right now. In short, the answer is that we are trying to do this as quickly as we possibly can.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my right hon. Friend and his team on the work they have done to put us in such a relatively strong position to vaccinate in the coming months, and I pay tribute to the team here at the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust for the work that they are doing at the moment. This area has been in tier 4 for 10 days, and there is a continuing acceleration in the number of infections reported locally. By definition, those are not happening in the business premises that were closed as a result of moving to tiers 3 and 4. What information does the Secretary of State have about where these infections are being transmitted under tier 4?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): The majority of infections happen within the household, from one person in a household to another. That is, perhaps, inevitable, because we are physically closest to those with whom we live. Over the last 10 days, it has not yet been possible to do a full analysis of where we think the transmission is happening within tier 4. The reason for that is simply that the data are not available, and the data are particularly difficult to interpret over the Christmas period. I am very happy to keep talking to my right hon. Friend to try to understand as much as we can about where the transmissions are happening, because that is the route to keeping them under control in the least damaging way possible until we can complete the vaccine roll-out.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): We have put in more support to help care homes with the challenges that covid throws up, in relation to both testing and other things such as PPE that are so necessary. I am very happy to arrange a meeting between the hon. Gentleman and the Minister for Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately), to see what more can be done, and in particular whether the burden that he describes—the time taken to do these vital tests—can be minimised in some way.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the work that the Secretary of State is doing, and particularly his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Craig Mackinlay) about the importance of getting enough vaccinators. Even within London boroughs, I am conscious of a difference in the speed of roll-out, even to very vulnerable people. In my constituency, I have a number of recently retired medical people—doctors, clinicians and nurses—who would willingly volunteer if they were asked. In addition, will the Secretary of State make, or has he made, approaches to private healthcare providers? As I understand it, many of them have capacity and, I am told, they would be willing in some cases to make their staff available on a pro bono basis to help the NHS to roll out this vaccine.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I am pretty sure that that has been done. If it has not, I will absolutely check and get back to my hon. Friend. If anybody who is clinically qualified comes forward, we are very enthusiastic to hear from them. NHS Professionals, the body that is responsible for extra staff in the NHS, is organising the distribution of those who want to come back into service in order to help to vaccinate, and we look forward to hearing from people.