UK facing ‘tidal wave’ of Omicron cases, says Boris Johnson
Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday that Britain was facing a “tidal wave” of infections from the Omicron coronavirus variant, and announced a massive increase in booster vaccinations to bolster defenses against it. In a televised statement, Johnson said everyone 18 years of age and older would be offered a third shot of the vaccine by the end of this month in response to the Omicron “emergency”. The previous target was the end of January.
He said cases of the highly transmissible variant are doubling every two to three days in the UK, and “a tidal wave of Omicron is coming.”
“And I fear that it is now clear that two doses of the vaccine alone are not enough to deliver the level of protection that we all need,” Johnson said. “But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with the third dose — a booster dose — we can all get back to our level of protection.”
They announced a “national mission” to deliver booster vaccines, with pop-up vaccination centers and additional support seven days a week from military planners and teams of thousands of volunteer vaccinators.
Johnson’s December 31 target applies to England. Other parts of the UK – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – are also expected to ramp up their vaccination campaigns.
The UK Health Protection Agency states that existing vaccines appear to be less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to Omicron, although preliminary data suggests that the effectiveness after a third vaccine dose is 70% to 75%. The middle increases.
In the UK more than 80% of people 12 years of age and older have received two doses of the vaccine, and 40% of adults have received three doses. Giving the rest a booster over the next three weeks will be a big challenge, requiring around 1 million doses a day. Johnson acknowledged that many routine medical procedures would have to be postponed to meet the target.
Johnson’s announcement came hours after the government raised the country’s official coronavirus threat level, warning that the rapid spread of the Omicron variant had pushed the UK into risky territory.
The chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the highly transmissible new strain “adds additional and rapidly increasing risks to public and health care services” at a time when COVID-19 is already widespread. He recommended increasing the alert level from 3 to 4 on a 5-point scale. The top level, 5, indicates that officials think the health care system is about to be overwhelmed.
Doctors said early evidence suggests that Omicron is currently spreading much faster than the dominant delta variant, and that vaccines offer less protection against it. British officials say Omicron will replace Delta as a major strain in the UK in a matter of days.
“Data on severity will become clearer in the coming weeks but hospitalizations from Omicron are increasing and are likely to increase rapidly,” he said.
Concerns about the new version prompted Johnson’s Conservative government to reimpose restrictions lifted nearly six months ago. Masks must be worn in most indoor settings, COVID-19 certificates must be shown to enter nightclubs and people are being urged to work from home if possible.
Many scientists say this is unlikely to be enough, and are calling for tougher measures, which the government has so far resisted. Scientists in South Africa, where Omicron was first identified, say they see signs that it may be causing a less severe disease than Delta, but caution that it will certainly happen sooner.
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