“It will significantly reduce levels of serious illness, hospitalisation and deaths 2-3 weeks after vaccination.
“It will, in time, also reduce pressures on our health and social care system in due course when more people are vaccinated.
“However, that does not mean that individuals who are vaccinated can start behaving as if the pandemic is over for them. It is not.
“Caution and vigilance have to remain the watchwords, particularly until such times as the vaccination programme is much further advanced in the whole population.
“For a start, no vaccine is 100% effective.
“Some people who receive it will not benefit from the full protection that the vast majority will enjoy.