The manufacturing schedule of Covid vaccine doses should be published to boost transparency and public confidence in the rollout of the jabs, a senior Conservative MP has said.
Mark Harper, the chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs, urged the Government to "set out what the pipeline looks like" to reassure Britons that delivery of the jab will hit targets.
Ministers have pledged to give up to 15 million people in the most vulnerable categories, including the over-80s and the clinically extremely vulnerable, an initial dose of the vaccine by February 15. The supply of doses is the "rate-limiting factor" preventing the rollout being accelerated any faster, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, has said.
Confusion over which aspects of supply are proving to be the pinch point has grown, however.
Pfizer, the American company that manufactures one of the approved jabs, is understood to be slightly ahead of schedule on production. AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish company that makes another, is understood to be producing doses at its maximum manufacturing capacity – but it is unclear how many doses that equates to each week.
Mr Harper told The Telegraph that a "weird circular argument" had arisen, with "AstraZeneca saying we can manufacture as much as the Government can distribute up to two million a week, and the Government saying we can distribute it if they can make it".
He accepted ministers' arguments that releasing data about the exact number of doses going to each location could prove a security risk, saying: "I get that, but I don't understand why there's a problem with saying that we've got an agreement with AstraZeneca to supply us with this many doses over this period."
He added: "If they're confident they can do 15 million doses by February 15 and they have the doses to do that, presuming they're not lying, then that must mean they've got the supplies. I don't understand why publishing it is a problem… I think more transparency would be helpful because it would give people confidence."
Mr Harper said that, once supply is scaled up, the Government should look to have vaccine centres operating 24 hours a day.
"At the moment, the limiting factor is the supply of the vaccine," he added. "Opening 24/7 isn't going to help you get the people vaccinated. But at some point you're going to get to a point where actually operating 24/7 is going to be helpful in getting the vaccine rolled out more quickly.
"We are going to get to the stage where throughput of people is going to be a limiting factor. Some people may have jobs and shift systems, childcare, where flexibility and longer hours would be sensible."
The Government should plan now so that it is ready to extend the hours of operation at vaccine hubs beyond 8am to 8pm in the next phase of the rollout, he said.
His calls for a 24-hour operation to deliver vaccines were echoed by Steve Brine, former Tory health minister, who told The Telegraph: "My view is, if there's demand and if there's supply plus staff, we must try. I am sure key workers would jump at the offer, and for some on shift work it may be the best way. Maybe not over-80s in the middle of the night, but that's understandable."
Mr Brine also called for MPs and core parliamentary staff to be considered for priority in the vaccine queue after the most vulnerable have received it, saying: "We should do MPs and core house staff as well so we can get our democracy back – and we'd be up for that any time of day or night.
"Parliament is a shadow, at best, of itself and it's never been more important we can ask questions. Good policy comes through scrutiny, in my experience."
Mr Brine said he has also demanded that teachers be included on the priority list when the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation reviews which groups should top the list for the second phase of the rollout.
There have also been calls for the police to be prioritised amid concerns over a high rate of absence due to sickness in some forces.
