Frontline practice staff should get priority for the COVID-19 vaccine given the increased risks posed by the new strain of the virus, senior doctors said today.

Most frontline doctors, including GPs, have “no idea” when they might get the vaccine, according to a survey by the Doctors’ Association. Especially in tier 4 areas, trusts have not drawn up schedules that give the right priorities – and staff sickness is increasing, the association warned. Its survey involved 1,000 staff working in frontline areas, including GPs, emergency specialists and those conducting vaccination, and 70% said they did not know when they would get the vaccine.

The Association wrote to health secretary Matt Hancock last night calling for him to take action. Association vice-chair Dr Jenny Vaughan said: “Our NHS heroes are still fighting this virus even though the days of clapping at 8 o’clock are well behind us. Those risking their lives deserve clarity and assurance that they matter.”

GP registrar Dr Zainab Najim said: “Heading into the toughest winter the NHS has ever seen, the announcement of a new, more transmissible strain of COVID-19 could have disastrous impacts on frontline staff and patients if the government does not act now. Without a universal policy to vaccinate frontline patient-facing staff as a priority, and no review of current PPE guidance, we could be facing avoidable staff sickness and absence over the already difficult winter months. We are also concerned that, without escalating the current PPE guidelines, staff themselves will be at risk of not only contracting the virus but passing it onto the vulnerable patient population.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday that half a million people have now had their first dose of vaccine. The UK was close to imposing a regional quarantine on the new tier 4 areas yesterday as authorities in the Midlands and the north issued instructions to travellers from these areas to self-isolate for ten days.

Chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance warned the UK might need tougher measures in the New Year to control the new strain of the virus. He said last night: “The evidence on this virus is that it spreads easily, it’s more transmissible, we absolutely need to make sure we have the right level of restrictions in place. I think it is likely that numbers with the variant will grow across the country and I think it’s likely, therefore, that measures will need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced. It’s important to get ahead of this, and to make sure that the tiering system is adequate to stop things going, not to watch it and react in retrospect, and, given that we’re entering a period of inevitable mixing, I think there will be some increases in numbers over the next few weeks.”

The UK yesterday reported 33,364 new cases of infection and 215 new deaths. Hospital admissions statistics continued to reflect this trend – with patients in hospital being close to the number of 18,000 reached in the first wave but those on mechanical ventilation at a much lower level. Tier 4 parts of the UK saw the reintroduction of “shielding” yesterday for the clinically highly vulnerable. These people have been told to stay at home at all times except for medical appointments or exercise.