The UK became the first major country in the world to remove all remaining legal Covid-19 restrictions. It has not been the case that it was too soon and that it would lead to a surge in cases. We have replaced the protection from lock downs with the protection from science.
Seeing and taking part in the amazing scenes around the UK to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee just over three weeks ago showed how far we have come. Covid will not be eradicated even though we can rely on vaccines. Covid will always be around and we should live with him.
It was striking that there were more alarmist stories last week about the rise in Covid-19 cases. Some people think that the epidemic is still going on.
As the man who led calls for restrictions during the Pandemic, I am aware of the concerns that people have. Many people have died and many more have had terrible experiences with the disease. I know that we have the tools to deal with this virus and any calls for restrictions should be thrown out.
I asked those who wanted more restrictions where it ended. We said our strategy was to suppress the virus until the vaccine worked. Almost 9 in 10 people aged 12 and over have had at least one vaccine dose, and almost 7 in 10 have had a booster vaccine. More than 149 million doses have been injected into us. We were told in January 2020 that it could take up to 10 years for a vaccine to be created.
The Office for National Statistics survey shows that infections are rising, but they are not as high as they were before the vaccine. According to figures published last week, 99.3% of the population have at least one form of immunity.
We are not being swamped by another Covid wave. We need to do the same thing for our yearly Covid vaccine as we do for our flu vaccine. Vaccines are the solution to rising cases.
Around the world, this is also the case. Covid is a global problem. Much of the developing world is affected by Covid. In their first year, Covid vaccines reduced the global death toll by 20 million. The UK should be proud of what it has done.
The vaccine would be available at a cost around the world because of the UK government's work. We don't charge for intellectual property for the Oxford vaccine to allow more areas to make it. More than two-thirds of the world's population have received a vaccine.
The proportion of these delivered with the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab is higher in developing countries. 179 countries now use the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, thanks to the whole team.
The UK invested over half a billion of taxpayers' money into the Covax scheme so we could help the world get vaccinations.
There's more that needs to be done. We need to be prepared for new diseases such as the vaccine evaders and the next Pandemic. Let's not fall into the trap of more restrictions and scaremongers. We will be set back further by this. We need to protect ourselves and make the most of our freedom, so we need to back the team.
The Conservative Member of Parliament for West Suffolk is the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
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