Boris Johnson is expected to address a news conference on Tuesday when he will outline how vaccinations will provide Britain’s main defence over the colder months.
According to a senior government source quoted by The Daily Telegraph, the PM will tell the country: “This is the new normal – we need to learn to live with COVID.
“The vaccines are a wall of defence. The autumn and the winter do offer some uncertainty, but the prime minister is dead set against another lockdown.”
As at 12 September, almost 81% of people aged 16 and over were fully-vaccinated, while almost 90% have had the first of two vaccine doses.
The UK’s chief medical officers are due to advise the government on whether vaccination should be available to those aged 12 to 15 after the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation concluded the benefit would be only marginal.
The prime minister is also expected to approve booster jabs, although it is not clear who will be eligible for the third dose of a vaccine.