The hashtag #EndThePandemic has been trending on Twitter after Boris Johnson said he remained upbeat about easing the remaining coronavirus lockdown measures in England on 21 June, .
The prime minister said this week he “can see nothing” in the data to suggest the UK cannot open up, but hesitated to give a definite answer.
Ministers are considering delaying the easing if there is a rise in hospitalisations and deaths.
On Twitter, Zanele Mbondwana told Johnson and Matt Hancock that the only way to end the crisis is to donate doses now.
“Other G7 countries are already stepping up. As G7 host, the UK must show its leadership with an urgent vaccine sharing commitment to the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX),” she said.
In February, Johnson had promised to donate the UK’s surplus vaccines with poorer countries – as the UK had ordered more than 400 million doses of different vaccines.
Many of these will be left over once all adults are vaccinated, but the UK has still not announced a plan on sharing vaccines, even though more than half of the country is now fully vaccinated.
Youtuber Martin Bamford said it’s “good” to see #EndThePandemic is trending.
One Tweeter user said he “can see why this hashtag exists”. He said it is born out of people’s “anger and impatience” – and said the pandemic will end when people will fight back, ‘as they did during the second World War’.
And another Twitter user said “we have not been in a pandemic since last September”.
One of the reactions called on those who are against lockdowns, masks and vaccines to their bit to end the pandemic: “These people on Twitter thinking that tweeting #endthepandemic is going to end the pandemic…
“I find it weird that the people who are anti lockdowns are also anti masks and anti vaccines. They want the pandemic to end but won’t do what they need to do to help it end”.
“I agree we should #endthepandemic. Whilst we are at it, can we also end <insert your choice>. That should do it,” another Tweet read.
On Wednesday, Johnson told reporters: “I can see nothing in the data at the moment that means we can’t go ahead with step four, or the opening up on June 21st, but we’ve got to be so cautious.
“What we need to work out is to what extent the vaccination programme has protected enough of us, particularly the elderly and vulnerable against a new surge, and there I’m afraid the data is just still ambiguous.
“I know that people want a clear answer about the way ahead for June 21. But at the moment we’ve just got to wait a little bit longer.”
Related: ‘Just shut up’: Backlash after Laurence Fox boasts he broke lockdown
Piers Corbyn arrested over leaflets comparing vaccines to Auschwitz
