AstraZeneca – Coronavirus latest news: Gap between vaccine doses ‘essential’ to save lives, says Matt Hancock

Asked about whether schools will have returned at Easter, Matt Hancock said: “I hope so but we’ve got to look at the data – we’ll make an announcement as soon as we know.”

Mr Hancock said schools are to have two weeks notice ahead of reopening, as per Education Secretary Gavin Williamson’s recent announcement, “and I don’t know if it’ll be then (Easter), or before then.”

He said that the “debate” about vaccinating all teachers should wait until the most clinically vulnerable groups have received their inoculations.

“A bit like with the 12-week dosing schedule, we’re doing this in clinical priority order, in order to save the most lives,” he said, insisting that the “challenge” of the roll-out was supply of the vaccine.

“We’ve taken the decision to go through quite rightly in order of clinical need, starting with those who are most likely to die of this disease, the over-80s, those in care homes, over-70s, the clinically extremely vulnerable.”