Prime Minister Boris Johnson believes apathy is the biggest barrier to getting Aylesbury Vale's unvaccinated population jabbed

Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that 'apathy' was the biggest reason people remain unvaccinated in Aylesbury and beyond.

Speaking at a press briefing today (January 24), the Prime Minister said he now thought apathy was the key reason people remain unjabbed.

On January 4, Mr Johnson visited the mass vaccination centre in Stoke Mandeville, praising the 'heroic' efforts of volunteers at the centre.

Yet, Aylesbury Vale remains above the national average when it comes to the percentage of over 12s yet to receive any dose of a vaccine protecting against Covid.

The Prime Minister said: "I remember that from Stoke Mandeville. But, the number of people who have been vaccinated is growing.

"There are clearly still hesitations, but I think the biggest enemy we have, is not any more anxiety about the vaccination, or some of the stuff that has been pedaled on the internet.

"Actually, the biggest threat to the UK vaccination campaign is apathy. And that is not justified.

"If you look at some of the numbers from cities in the United States, where they have low levels of vaccination, the numbers of people in ICU, it really is pretty scary.

"Getting vaccinated is a very good thing. Omicron, if you're not vaccinated could be very far from a walk in the park. It's a very nasty disease."

The Prime Minister was making his first visit to Milton Keynes since the mass anti-vaccination protests caused havoc across the town last month.

But, the 57-year-old was reluctant to offer further publicity or coverage to the covid rebels.

He added: "I think that these people are totally wrong-headed and talking mumbo jumbo, and I hesitate to give them any more oxygen than they are already getting.

"And do you know what? It shows what an incredibly scientifically literate country we are. The people of this country have come forward in numbers barely seen anywhere in the world, because they understand the science and the importance of being vaccinated.

"So, rather than bash the people you've mentioned, I want to celebrate what the British people have done."

One topic the Prime Minister was unwilling to discuss was the ongoing investigation into parties, allegedly held at 10 Downing Street during national lockdown.

He repeated previous statements, that he wouldn't speak further on the matter until Sue Gray's investigation was completed.

Instead, his focus turned to addressing the backlog of patients needing NHS treatment.

Citing people who were still waiting to see hospital staff and those who stayed away while wards were overwhelmed with Covid cases.

He said: "What I'm looking to do today is to look at the number one issue facing British people, and that is we're coming out of Covid, we hope, touch wood.

"Omicron, has been another grim experience for our country, but it is starting to recede.

"The biggest issue we face and the reason I'm here at Milton Keynes University Hospital is, because we've got six million people now awaiting treatment for one kind or another in the NHS.

"Record numbers in the backlog. That number, I've got to tell you, I've got to tell our listeners is going to go up, because people will inevitably come forward who didn't get treatments during Covid and who need those treatments.They must come forward.

"What I want to tell you is we are focused 100% on trying to fix those backlogs, on trying to contract that period that people have to wait.

"I don't believe that there is a family in this country that hasn't had some experience of somebody who needed treatment and who was delayed.

"Whether it was cancer or anything else, and that is the priority for the government and that's why we're putting the £36 billion more in. That's why there's 44,000 more people in the NHS today than there were in 2020."