The government needs to explain the vaccination programme with greater clarity and urgency

Editorial: As some fear the prime minister is ‘abandoning science’, the nation needs to be properly informed about our route out of the pandemic

Boris Johnson needs to send a much clearer message to the public that this is a national emergency (Getty)

The prime minister may not be the best person to tell us this, given his record of blustery and premature assurances that a corner was being turned and the virus sent packing, but the prospects for mass vaccination are hopeful.  

So when Boris Johnson says, “We know there are challenges still ahead of us over the coming weeks and months, but I’m confident this is the year we will defeat coronavirus and start building back better,” we can be forgiven for focusing on the challenges still ahead of us rather than his confidence.  

The immediate challenge is the faster spreading variant of coronavirus, and the difficult decisions about when schools should go back. But the start of inoculations with the Oxford vaccine tomorrow is a significant moment, and should act as a spur to urgent national mobilisation.