Matt Hancock has confirmed a government timetable of early May for all UK adults aged 50 and older to be offered a first coronavirus vaccination, while arguing it is “still too early” to start talking about an imminent wider reopening from lockdown. The May deadline was one Downing Street had previously declined to specify, and which emerged on Friday seemingly by accident when it was mentioned as part of a government plan for elections in England that month. No 10 had previously said only that the target for offering initial vaccinations to the first nine groups of people, phase 1 of the programme, was spring. But a Cabinet Office document published on Friday, setting out plans to hold elections on 6 May, said these could safely happen in part because the first phase of vaccinations would be finished by then. Downing Street initially dismissed the schedule, saying the Cabinet Office report was “issued in error” and had been withdrawn, before saying it was correct after all. Hancock, the health secretary, told Sky News: “My plan is that we should be able to offer the vaccine to everybody in categories 1 to 9 – that’s all the over-50s – by May,” adding that “lots of things have got to go right to hit that goal”, especially continued supply of vaccines. Confirmation of the timetable prompted immediate demands from some Conservative MPs for an accelerated schedule to end England’s lockdown. Mark Harper, the former chief whip who chairs the Covid Recovery Group, which groups together about 70 Tory backbenchers, said if the first vaccination phase was completed by May, it would be “almost impossible to justify having any restrictions in place at all by that point”. “Once the top four risk groups have been vaccinated by 15 February, and protected by 8 March, the government must start easing the restrictions,” Harper said, adding that ministers should also look at fully reopening schools before March. But Hancock urged caution, pointing to the fact that more than 30,000 people were still in UK hospitals with Covid, and calling that “far, far too many”. Asked about a rapid easing of lockdown, he said: “It’s still too early to say,” adding: “I know there’s good news out there, but we still have very serious problems that we’ve got to get through.” While the expected timetable for people to be offered vaccinations is of intense interest to the public, Downing Street had been wary of committing to schedules beyond the target of offering first vaccinations to all older care home residents and staff by the end of January – which was largely met – and to have done the same for the first four most vulnerable groups, as far as those aged 70-plus and clinically extremely vulnerable people, by mid-February. One reason for caution was the sense inside No 10 that Boris Johnson has previously overpromised in terms of timetables for a return to more normal life. Another caveat is that while the current speed of vaccinations is sufficiently fast to meet the May deadline – more than 2.5m doses have been delivered in both of the last two weeks – this is dependent on a continued supply of vaccines. The ambiguity created some confusion, with Downing Street repeatedly declining over recent days to specify a deadline. The inclusion of May in the elections plan appeared to catch No 10 off guard. Johnson’s deputy spokesperson initially said of the document: “This was issued in error, and I believe the Cabinet Office have now withdrawn this.” Several minutes later, he corrected himself, saying: “It isn’t actually being withdrawn.” He then conceded: “The Cabinet Office document is correct – what it says is correct – and the prime minister will set out more details on 15 February.”