Boris Johnson’s optimism over vaccines is a double-edged sword

Editorial: The government has to correct the balance in its own communications

The PM has faced criticism over his response to the increase in Covid-19 cases (Reuters)

With a characteristic flourish, Boris Johnson repeatedly referred to the coronavirus vaccines as the “distant bugle of the scientific cavalry coming over the brow of the hill” when they were being developed last year.

Now that two battalions are at the country’s disposal, and another on the way, Mr Johnson and his ministers are naturally keen to trumpet what they call the “historic” vaccines delivery plan unveiled by the health secretary, Matt Hancock. While publishing daily figures on the number of people immunised is welcome, the government’s transparency has its limits: it refuses to say how many doses it currently has.

It makes sense to promote the vaccine, in order to boost the take-up, and explain how and when people will be able to receive it. Yet on this occasion, the prime minister’s trademark “boosterism” risks becoming a distraction from the more immediate and urgent task of driving down the number of cases to ease the extreme pressure on the hospitals perilously close to their tipping point.