People who are hesitant about getting a coronavirus jab are mainly concerned about the vaccines being safe or necessary, according to ONS research.

The Office for National Statistics said on Friday that people who were uncertain about the jabs, or who were unwilling or unable to get one, had given “considerable thought” to the prospect and were not traditional “anti-vaxxers”.

All respondents gave one of two key reasons – that they did not trust the vaccines were safe, and they did not feel the vaccines were necessary for them.

The results came from 50 in-depth interviews carried out in February and March by IFF Research for the ONS to explore the attitudes of people hesitant about getting the vaccine.

Those who did not believe the vaccines were safe often spoke about the speed in which they were developed, and believed that not enough time had passed to know about long-term side effects.

“What came across strongly was that participants had given considerable thought to Covid-19 vaccination,” Hugh Stickland, head of strategy and engagement at the ONS, said.

“Key concerns were the speed at which vaccines were developed and possible side-effects including, for some, potentially on their fertility.

“They were not ‘anti-vaxxers’ or believers in conspiracies, and several mentioned that it mattered to them to take responsibility for staying healthy.”

A US proposal to discuss waiving patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines to boost supplies of the jabs will intensify talks on the issue within the World Trade Organisation (WHO), the organisation’s director-general has said.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told an online conference that there were arguments for and against a waiver, but she said she was sure that the proposal would “give impetus” to negotiations.

The WTO chief added that there were other aspects that needed to be addressed to improve vaccine supplies, such as reducing export restrictions so supply chains can work efficiently.

Ms Okonjo-Iweala said it was also necessary to increase production capacity in emerging countries, noting that Africa currently imports almost all its vaccines.

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would support waiving intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines as the “extraordinary circumstances” of the pandemic required “extraordinary measures” in response.

The number of deaths registered in England and Wales in 2020 was 14.3 per cent above the average for the previous five years, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed.

A total of 607,922 deaths were registered, compared with an average of 532,077 in 2015-19 – meaning there were 75,845 extra deaths, or “excess deaths”.

The ONS said Covid-19 was responsible for 97 per cent of these excess deaths.

Deaths in private homes in England and Wales, from all causes, were also one-third higher in 2020 than in the previous five years, according to ONS data.

The majority of deaths due to Covid-19 occurred in hospitals and care homes, while many deaths from other causes, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, happened in private homes.

The ONS added that many of these deaths at home were people who may have typically died elsewhere, such as in hospital, in normal times.

High numbers of cases of the Indian variant around the world suggest it could be as transmissible as the Kent variant that fuelled the UK’s second wave of Covid-19 last year, an expert has said.

Jeff Barrett, director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute Covid-19 Genomics Initiative, said the high case numbers for the variant were “consistent with this one being more transmissible than older versions of the virus from last year”.

“[It’s] possibly as transmissible as the B.117 Kent variant that is very widespread in the UK,” Mr Barrett told the BBC.

However, he added that there had been reassuring evidence from real-world studies on the effectiveness of vaccines against the South African and Brazilian variants of Covid-19.

“That paints a relatively positive picture that the vaccines are going to continue to have efficacy,” he said.

“So obviously for new variants like this one, we need to do additional experiments and really get the solid proof one way or the other about that”.

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Australia will lift a ban on its citizens returning from India next week after heavy criticism from lawmakers, expatriates and the Indian diaspora.

The country’s prime minister Scott Morrison said he stood by his decision, arguing that the travel ban, which was backed by jail terms and financial penalties for those who attempted to fly via a third country, had prevented hotel quarantine systems from being overwhelmed.

“The order that we have put in place has been highly effective, it€’s doing the job that we needed it to do, and that was to ensure that we could do everything we can to prevent a third wave of Covid-19 here in Australia,” Mr€ Morrison told reporters.

Australia will charter three repatriation flights between 15 May and 31 May, prioritising about 900 people deemed most vulnerable, he added.

The government estimates about 9,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents are in India.

Prospective travellers will need to return a negative Covid-19 test and will be required to undertake the standard 14-day hotel quarantine imposed on incoming travellers.

The UK government should act with “ambition” and announce travel corridors as soon as possible to help to revive the aviation industry, the boss of British Airways owner IAG has said.

“We consider now is the time to start travelling again,” chief executive Luis Gallego said on Friday.

“We believe that the government needs to be a bit ambitious in getting global travel back on track and bring the benefits of all the efforts that the government and people have done with the vaccination rollout.

“I think they need to recognise that people who are vaccinated or have been tested can travel without restrictions.”

His comments came as the business revealed it had continued to rack up huge losses during the first three months of 2021, with the firm sinking to a pre-tax loss of 1.22 billion euros (£1.1bn).

Passenger numbers also remained at record low levels due to the pandemic, at just 19.6 per cent of the pre-Covid levels in 2019.

Students and staff in Scotland are now able to access rapid coronavirus testing through their local college, with more than 100,000 lateral flow testing kits distributed to help detect cases of Covid-19 in people with no symptoms.

Authorities are urging people to take part in voluntary testing twice a week using the at-home kits.

“The college testing programme is voluntary, and I encourage all eligible staff and students to take part regularly to help protect themselves, and keep their friends, families and colleges safe,” Professor Jason Leitch, Scotland’s national clinical director, said.

“Around one in three people with Covid-19 do not have symptoms. Rapid lateral flow testing helps to find cases in people who may have no symptoms but are still infectious and can transmit the virus to others.

“These easy-to-use, at-home kits offer extra reassurance so it’s important that students continue to make use of them regularly as restrictions are lifted.”

The Scottish government recommends two tests are taken each week, ideally three days apart.

A limited number of students are currently allowed on to college campuses at any one time in line with current public health guidance, with safety measures such as social distancing in place.

Our expert Simon Calder has given his advice below on how to manage foreign travel ahead of the release of the holiday “green list” later today:

Pregnant women are struggling to access Covid-19 vaccinations nearly three weeks after the government made them eligible for the jab, sparking calls for changes to the official booking system.

Official guidelines say they should be offered the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines if possible, but the NHS National Booking Service says it does not have any information on how these can be accessed.

Our Whitehall editor, Kate Devlin, has the full story below: