Cumbria's health boss has clarified that there is still a risk to the public ending a lockdown before spring, even if all the vulnerable groups are vaccinated for coronavirus.

This comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested that lockdown measures may not be ceased until spring, which is something Cumbria's director of public health Colin Cox has supported.

When asked why we would not see a lockdown lifted even if the most vulnerable groups have had their jabs, he said: "There are several reasons as to why, even if all the groups that are vulnerable have had the first vaccine by mid-February, which I still think is a tall order, there will be a percentage of people who have been able to be vaccinated. For example, if you have had Covid-19 you should not be vaccinated for 28 days afterwards and until you have recovered.

"There will also have been people who have been vaccinated but not shown any response – the vaccine is very good, but it is not 100 per cent effective.

"There will still be vulnerable people who may pick it up at a later date as well.

"So, until we get to a point where we get enough people vaccinated to get herd immunity, which stops the spread though the community, we are still going to need restraint in the way we act.

"When those things would ease, I don't know, but for me I have always thought we would see our way out of this by spring. Then I think it would be an easing of lockdown gradually rather than taking all the brakes off."

Wuhan in China, where the virus was first reported, has now returned to some form of normality, which Mr Cox puts down to severe lockdown measures they have put into force.

He went on to commend Cumbria's hospital trusts – the University of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust and North Cumbria Integrated Care Trust – which have successfully vaccinated more than 70 per cent of all over 80s, according to recent reports.

"Both NHS trusts are in the top five. It is absolutely fantastic and shows the hard work the NHS staff have been doing to roll out this vaccine, and they have done phenomenally well.

"It is important to balance this good news though, the light at the end of the tunnel is still there, but we still have to hold our nerve and not take the brakes off yet," Mr Cox said.

"We saw what happened in December when we ended lockdown and the rates bounced right back up again."