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Good afternoon and welcome to my regular South West Surrey update No. 93. As of today, we have a total of 1,766,819 positive cases of COVID-19 with 62,566 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 1,776 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 89 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 259 active cases in Waverley. All data is accurate as of 11am this morning.

Vday+2 Tuesday morning saw 90-year-old grandmother Margaret Keenan ([link removed]) receive the first-ever COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine. Following a second dosage after Christmas Margaret will become the first person in the world to be immune to COVID-19 as a result of a clinically approved vaccine. There were some very British moments of the day itself – summed up nicely in this CNN interview ([link removed]) .

So who gets it next? The government published their vaccine priority list earlier in the year, ([link removed]) which you'll be unsurprised to hear sees the oldest and most 'high-risk' members of the population getting the vaccine first followed by younger people later in 2021. We will all be contacted when it’s our turn so no need to call your local GP surgery…and hip hip hooray the Health Secretary confirmed to me in the Commons that it's safe to start thinking about your 2021 summer holiday ([link removed]) .

What about the restrictions? Yesterday (before we were rudely interrupted by a fire alarm) the Health and Social Care, and Science and Technology Committee's inquiry into the government's reaction to the pandemic heard from Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance ([link removed]) in a rather more cordial session than we have had of late (well it is Christmas). They told us that there would come a point where the risk of the virus will be low enough for restrictions to be lifted - but that was a ‘political’ judgement based on scientific advice and not a decision for them, something they are being much more careful to stress than at the beginning of the year. But one issue that will clearly need to be weighed up is that Jan/Feb is the most pressured time of the year for the NHS even without flu.

Doing it differently? Some interesting replies to my what would you have done differently? ([link removed]) question: the biggest unknown at the start was the extent of asymptomatic transmission, with Chris Whitty pointing out that even with SARS most transmission is symptomatic which was why they thought COVID-19 would be similar. They also pointed out the need for more resilience in the public health system to do things like testing, something which Germany was clearly in a stronger position than us. Most interestingly even though our pandemic preparations may have over-focused on flu, our vaccine preparations did not with the post-Ebola launch of the UK Vaccine Network and the international CEPI fund for developing countries. No surprises then why that side of things came up trumps. Finally, we had a rousing paean of praise for British science ([link removed]) to warm the cockles of Gavin Williamson’s heart from Dr June Raine of the MHRA.

To lateral flow or not was another question Chris Whitty answered to a question from Barbara Keeley (and a number of you have emailed me about). No test is 100% perfect, but all help reduce risk. Missing - for example - half of all positives still reduces risk by 50% - but because some positives are missed, care homes sensibly insist on visitors wearing PPE even after their rapid test. The good news is that such tests have very low rates of false positives (people wrongly told they have COVID-19) which makes them good for weekly testing of hospital staff where it can be a big problem if staff are told to self-isolate who don’t need to. But having these tests means there is no excuse that some hospitals which still have high numbers of patients who picked up the infection in hospital (up to two thirds of COVID-19 patients in Stoke and even next door at the Royal Hampshire around 40%). You can watch the whole session here ([link removed]) .

The key number to remember for anyone with pandemic-related difficulties remains 0300 200 1008 the Surrey Helpline run by Surrey County Council (Mon-Fri 9 am to 5 pm).

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

Deal or no deal is the big story in Westminster today after Boris Johnson’s inconclusive meal with Ursula von der Leyen. At least we are still talking. I have always thought that in the end the Germans would not allow no deal, given the huge damage it would inflict on German exporters. But it feels like it could genuinely go either way: both sides have decided their positions are based on principle, so even if the practical impact of what is being asked for is minimal (Britain is more likely to have higher than lower environmental and social standards for example) it gives neither side much room to be flexible.

International law will not be broken after all There was some good news for foreign policy geeks like me who worry about things like the ‘international rules-based order.’ The contentious provisions in the Internal Market Bill will now be dropped as the Joint Committee on the Withdrawal Agreement (remember that?) has now agreed to several changes which will mean that the UK no longer has to introduce these measures. Well done Michael Gove.

0.7% Aid Spending In this week’s Herald I have written about why I will be opposing the government's proposed plan to temporarily reduce the UK’s International Aid Budget from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This is an issue many of you have written to me about with strong views on both sides. You can read the article here ([link removed]) .

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

Phyllis Tuckwell continues to thrive according to new CE Sarah Church whom I spoke to this morning. Last week they had a virtual fundraiser at Guildford Cathedral which raised even more than the equivalent one last year… but like all charities next year is looking very tight because of the uncertainty around whether they will be able to organise big events. A huge well done to all the staff there who have been absolutely brilliant, including maintaining end of life visits right the way through both lockdowns.

Would you like to Listen to the Local News? FATN Talking News provides recordings of local newspaper and magazine articles for people with visual impairments. During the pandemic you can listen via their website, or via Alexa or Nest speakers. News covers Farnham, Fleet, Haslemere and Alton, and I even read my own weekly column in the Herald. Click here ([link removed]) for more information on this great free service.

Community Hero Awards Time is starting to run out to nominate people (or groups) for the Community Hero Awards I am running in partnership with the Farnham and Haslemere Heralds. I have been very moved by many of the nominations, and we hope to recognise as many groups and individuals who have gone above and beyond for our local community in 2020. To nominate someone either visit my website here ([link removed]) or reply to this email. Please do share this with your friends and neighbours as well so we can make sure no one gets missed.

See my list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents here ([link removed]) .

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

Trouble at sea? Some local businesses are struggling to get supplies into the UK because of a global shipping crisis. International shipping schedules were initially disrupted during the early stages of the pandemic, but recently a surge in demand for imports and a backlog of empty shipping containers are causing bottlenecks at UK ports. Both the industry and the Department for Transport are looking at finding an urgent temporary solution which we hope to hear about in the next few days.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

Dark Sky Reserves One for the list of things to do ‘when things get back to normal’ – visit the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors at night to try and catch a glimpse of the Milky Way. More here ([link removed]) .

And finally, it's amazing how getting a vaccine and being British can make you a global sensation… but it's even better when you also have no idea who Piers Morgan is. ([link removed])

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Promoted by Sean Donovan-Smith on behalf of Jeremy Hunt MP and South West Surrey Conservatives, all at 2 Royal Parade, Tilford Road, Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6TD.

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