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Boris Johnson tonight refused to bow to growing Tory pressure to bring forward the reopening of schools in England as he said he intends to 'stick' to his date of March 8 at the earliest for a return to classrooms. The Prime Minister warned that reopening schools too soon could force the country 'into reverse' and threaten the progress made during lockdown. He said his March 8 date represents the 'prudent and cautious approach' and that he does not intend to deviate from it. An increasing number of Conservative MPs are pushing for the PM to bring back schools earlier than planned as coronavirus cases continue to fall while a crucial study found the AstraZeneca vaccine cuts transmission of the disease. Fresh analysis from Oxford University showed the jab offers 76 per cent protection up to three months after the first dose, and can dramatically reduce the potential for passing on infection. Nicola Sturgeon piled the pressure on Mr Johnson yesterday after she said pupils in Scotland will start going back from February 22.
Asked if the new strains showed signs of being vaccine resistant, he told Times Radio: 'Yes, they do and that's something that I guess we've expected all along. 'So it is going to be a game of catch-up going forward – the vaccines will continue to work, but as the virus mutates they will work less well and we'll have to adjust them to bring them back up to top-level protection. 'But that's what we do with flu all the time. It's not something that's that alarming or unexpected really, but it is a reality. 'There isn't a silver bullet, we're not going to solve this problem overnight, it's going to take time. ' Professor Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial, said his team was working hard to look at how effective the jab was against the Kent variant of coronavirus that has been spreading through the UK, adding that data should be available soon. He said scientists were confident that vaccines will have a good impact against that variant, but that others showing more worrying mutations 'are going to be much more difficult to block from transmission'.
One survey of primary and secondary heads and governors over the weekend even warned that 700, 000 state school pupils are not being given any lockdown lessons. I shudder to think how far behind these children will be if, as it now seems likely, they don't return to lessons until September. After all, aptitude tests of children on their return from the long summer holiday have repeatedly shown how poorer children from less regulated, less educated households often need special coaching to get them back to pre-holiday levels. It is a truly desperate situation, one made all the more humiliating by the fact that we are now lagging behind Western Europe in seeking to reopen our schools. Danish primary schools have already been open for a month, and its infection rate continues to fall. In Germany, Holland, and France, children began to return last week. And yet for some bizarre reason, Britain is not contemplating even a partial reopening until the beginning of June – and even then only for a few year groups at primary level.
Biden's coronavirus relief package includes $170 billion to support schools and universities with reopening including expanding testing, avoiding layoffs, equipment and upgrades for schools. The president also signed an executive order requiring the Education Department and CDC to provide guidance to local schools on reopening. Biden's education secretary pick Miguel Cardona led Connecticut's reopening process as education commissioner. In his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday he said educators should be prioritized getting the vaccine.