UK steps up vaccine campaign amid Omicron variant “tidal wave”

Published on : 12/12/2021 – 22:30

Faced with “an Omicron tidal wave” sweeping the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Sunday December 12 a strong acceleration of the vaccine booster campaign, with the objective of offering a third dose vaccine against Covid-19 to all adults by the end of December.

“No one should doubt it: there is an Omicron tidal wave coming, and I fear it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are not enough to provide the level of protection we all have. need, “Boris Johnson said in a remarks broadcast on television at 8 p.m. ET. “But the good news is that our scientists are convinced that with a third dose – a booster dose – we can all increase our level of protection.”

>> To read also: “‘No reason to doubt that the current vaccines protect’ against Omicron, according to the WHO”

Banking on this third dose to avoid overwhelming hospitals and crippling the economy, Boris Johnson announced the goal of one month to offer this booster shot to all over 18 in England. They will now be able to benefit from it before the New Year.

The other nations of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) will also speed up their vaccination programs.

To accompany this commotion of combat, the vaccination centers will multiply, their hours will be extended, soldiers will be deployed, and thousands of vaccinators will be trained, detailed the conservative leader.

Rapid increase

The solemn announcement, from Downing Street, comes hours after the Covid alert level was raised due to a “rapid increase” in cases of the Omicron variant, which has prompted the government to announce new measures.

The total number of Omicron cases detected in the UK has reached 3,137, an increase of 65% from the total of 1,898 cases on Saturday, but the actual number of cases is actually said to be much higher.

Detected in UK just over two weeks ago, Omicron should be dominant variant within days, government says

The alert level was raised from three to four, the second highest level, which indicates that “transmission is high” and that the pressure on health services is “significant or increasing”.

“Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic diseases of Omicron is reduced,” said health officials from England, Scotland, Wales. and Northern Ireland in a joint statement.

The seriousness of Omicron “will be clearer over the next few weeks,” but they note that there are “already” hospitalizations due to Omicron and that their numbers are “likely” to “increase rapidly”.

The United Kingdom is particularly affected by the pandemic with more than 146,000 deaths and some 50,000 new infections recorded every day.

Conservative sling

In addition to speeding up the vaccine booster campaign, screening will be extended. From Tuesday, fully vaccinated contact cases of people who test positive for Covid-19 will be asked to perform antigenic tests daily for seven days. Those who are not vaccinated must remain isolated for ten days.

These announcements come on top of other measures recently presented by Mr Johnson, including the return to teleworking and the introduction of the health passport in certain places such as nightclubs.

Submitted to a vote by deputies on Tuesday, these new measures should be adopted thanks to the support of the opposition Labor party, but Boris Johnson is exposed to the mistrust of part of his conservative camp.

Among the rebels, MP Steve Baker considered the additional restrictions “disproportionate”. He said on SkyNews that like him, around 60 Conservative MPs will vote against the new measures.

In addition to this sling in his ranks, Boris Johnson is weakened by a series of scandals linked to supposed parties in Downing Street last winter, when the British were supposed to limit social interactions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Britain’s top civil servant, Simon Case, is tasked with conducting an internal investigation.

With AFP and Reuters