Even though ministers were begging people aged 40 and over to receive a booster vaccine, Britain’s booster drive remains in turmoil today. Britons are ready to dole out a third shot, despite the fact that they know there is no way to prevent them from getting it again.
Pictures of huge queues at vaccination centres were met by reports that those over 40 years old were encouraged yesterday to make a booking on the NHS website for a booster appointment after the waiting-time was reduced to three months.
Many people took to social media after they were told that they would still have to wait six more months before they could be sent home.
Experts demanded that Boris Johnson throw his ‘kitchen sink at’ the booster drive and let 8million people under 40 who received their first jab more than three months ago book their third, as delays can lead to loss of lives and destruction of livelihoods.
Only over-40s with a second jab less than 3 months ago will be invited to get their booster. However, new reports indicate that vaccine companies are sticking to their old guidelines of six-month gaps.
UK has placed its hope on Omicron Super Wave avoiding booster cases. The Prime Minister introduced controversial restrictions called ‘Plan B’ last night to help buy as much time as possible for people to receive boosters.
Experts are now calling for Government’s ‘throw away the kitchen sink at the booster drive, and to open it to all age groups because the current slow pace will lead to both loss of life and destruction of livelihoods.
Johnson explained how boosters are the nation’s best defense against the super-spreading Covid variant, and gave an overview of the restrictions to ‘Plan B’.
These new restrictions, which include mandatory mask orders and working from home guidance for Britons, will slow down the spread of Omicron to ensure that more booster jabs are available.
Reports indicate that there are huge queues at the jabbing centers and some Britons booking their booster appointments online have been turned down by staff who tell them to expect six months wait between jabs. However, the NHS says the wait time is only three months.
NHS data indicates that people in their 40s and 50s who have received a Covid boost since September have double-digit numbers of eligible patients who still need to be given a third dose. Yesterday the NHS Online Booking System for Covid Boosters was made available to over-40s. 81% of the people between 40-50 have never had a booster.
No10 pledged to provide a boost to 53 million adults in the UK before the end of January. However, at the rate that it is going now, this would only be possible until March.
The attempt has been thwarted once again by Britons wanting to have their booster. They were refused because they did not follow old guidelines that stated people had to wait 6 months between shots.
José from London was furious about being turned away from the appointment he booked via the NSH website.
“I was turned down for my booster appointment despite booking in line with the guidance. I had booked over 40 days ago and more than 3 months after dose 2. Apparently the centre I booked is only following old guidance which requires 182 days since dose 2 (I am 3 days away from that but still got turned away).,’ he wrote.
“However, the NHS site permitted me to book this centre!”
Here’s a graphic from the NHS showing second-dose uptake by age group. It shows that over 50% of people over 50 had their second vaccination in May. The majority of older adults received it in August. In the last week of August, more than half of those over 30 had already received the second dose. The new 3-month wait rule means that millions more people can technically get a Covid booster. However, younger populations cannot book one.
Britain’s current booster rollout rate means that it will not be able to give every adult eligible with a Covid booster shot before the end of January. Instead, the target date is 10 February.
The PM announced that the people of Downing Street should be able to work again from home, extend use masks, and introduce Covid passports for nightclubs at a press conference.
These data come a day following a study that showed Omicron could be beat with a third Pfizer dose. This has raised hopes that the booster program could defeat the super variant.
Everyone over the age 40 and those who have had their 2nd vaccine within the last two months can order a Covid booster online via NHS to be placed on hold for the end of the 3-month waiting period.
This leaves 8.2million people under 40 who had their first vaccine before September 1, this year, without the ability to get a Covid booster. Of this cohort, 4.5million are over 30 and 3.7million are aged between 18-and-29-years-of-age.
There are almost 18 million people eligible to receive a booster in England, regardless of their age, under the three-month waiting period for jabs. But, many haven’t received one.
Matthew Lesh, The head of research at Adam Smith Institute said that the UK needed to launch a booster campaign in order to defeat Omicron. He also argued that the restrictions on ‘Plan B,’ won’t stop the rising tide.
“The booster program is the only way to win” Omicron is expanding and the new restrictions won’t make a difference,’ he stated.
“But it’s a mild illness for people who have received three doses of vaccine.
The NHS is still failing to boost boosters as Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised just a few days ago.
“We don’t have the capacity to provide a booster for all adults until January 31, and that is despite the fact that it could take too long considering how fast the new variant works.
M. Lesh stated that the slow rollout would cause economic destruction and deaths. It was also a no-brainer to use all the resources available for the booster drive.
He stated that failure to speed up the booster program would result in loss of lives and livelihoods.
“The economic impact of the new guidance and restrictions will be in billions.
‘It’s an absolute no-brainer to throw the kitchen sink at getting boosters into arms as quickly as possible. A national war effort is necessary.
He said that all people should have access to the NHS Covid booster system, regardless their age. This was in reference to the fact that enough Covid jabs exist to make this possible.
He said that “the booking system should have already been opened to all age groups as the prime Minister said it would do weeks ago.”
“Anyone who has been receiving their first dose for more than three months should have immediate access to a second one. There’s no longer supply issues, it’s all logistics, and can be done.’
However, experts cautioned against making such a decision.
Associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading Dr Simon Clarke said that:It would be a disaster if the government opened the doors of the booster programme to all adults. People who are not yet vaccinated could take over people whose immunity has likely dropped even more.
‘It’s far better, I think, to copy the gradual release of boosters, but to work through the age groups as quickly as possible.’
Following the increase in British Omicron case numbers to 568 in today’s total, the government is under increasing pressure to relax restrictions. This highly evolved variant can be found in all of the UK countries and in nearly every part of England.
On average, 46,000 Covid patients are diagnosed each day in the UK. Covid Genomics UK Consortium data (COG UK) shows that around 1 in 666 cases, or 1.4%, is affected by the new strain.
According to NHS data, approximately 36 per cent of the population in England have received a Covid booster, but this varies widely across age demographics.
People aged between 70-79 were the most likely to receive their booster, with 86 per cent having done so as of December 8, based on National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) population estimates used by the NHS.
In terms of sheer numbers of boosters, the 60-69 age demographic recorded the most, with 4,398,841 third jabs as of yesterday, but this is only 68 per cent of this group.
For vaccine-uptake purposes, there are many ways to calculate the England population. One such method is NIMS, which tracks people who are registered with NHS. It is also updated every week.
However the NHS says this data set can overestimate population and therefore underestimate vaccine uptake as there is a lag between people registering with the NHS when they move, and could be counted twice, or have died and the record has not caught up.
After six months of receiving the first dose, the vaccines had begun to lose their effectiveness, the booster campaign began in September with older populations.
It was intended to provide additional protection for people ahead of what was expected to be a challenging winter for NHS.
Omicron’s sudden appearance a few short weeks ago has accelerated this process. Ministers promised to accelerate the rollout of Omicron and make it available to more people to prevent a repeat of the Delta-related wave.
Despite all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the launch of the ramp up, the massive booster campaign failed to move quickly enough. In fact, some days it performed worse than the day before the ministers made promises that they would put it on steroids.
However, this week Mr. Johnson claimed that Covid’s booster campaign was moving more quickly than anticipated, despite the fact that data indicates the country is not even close to meeting its 500,000 per-day goal.
Johnson, when asked about the speed of booster program, stated that it had actually been ahead of schedule. However, he added that it could be faster.
Reporters were told by him that the booster program is Europe’s fastest and that we have done more boosters in Europe than any other comparable country. It could go even faster, but that doesn’t make it any less effective.
The latest NHS data shows the UK is nowhere near the 500,000-a-day goal and is in fact delivering fewer booster jabs on some days than before Mr Johnson’s pledge.
Data revealed the inefficiency of the booster program, with just 391,050 jabs being given Tuesday. This date is the last available data.
Although booster rollout plans were made to increase the number of jabs, there are only 10,000 more than on the same date last week when 318 671 were administered.
The current pace of 2.7million per day means that it may take until February for any eligible Briton to get the third Covid vaccine. That’s almost two weeks after January’s deadline.
New information about ‘Plan B” measures was reported. A study showed that Omicron might be stopped if sufficient jabs were given.
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant found that a third dose provided Omicron protection as well as the two original Covid doses.
Pfizer maintained that the two-dose doses needed to reduce hospitalisations or deaths should be sufficient in case of new super-mutant strains.
The PM dramatically triggered ‘Plan B’ measures to control the rampant Omicron strain at a press conference last night, with fears that infections are now doubling every few days and the NHS could be crippled.
Office staff in millions will be encouraged to work remotely starting Monday. Masks will also be needed for theatres and cinemas. Covid passports have been introduced for large nightclubs.
Johnson stated that the office christmas parties must go ahead and drew ire from his critics. Businesses that are desperate have complained that different venue requirements don’t make sense.
An assortment of Conservative MPs have threatened to revolt against the measures at next week’s Commons vote, although they are supported by Labour.
Marcus Fysh backbencher said today that the new curbs are an “utter shame”, while Mark Harper former chief whip questioned whether government had the moral authority or the right to impose limits, given row about rules being broken in Downing Street.
The website for NHS Covid passed crashed last night, causing further problems.
Sajid Javid, a sign of tensions in Cabinet, dismissed the suggestion that mandatory vaccination may be considered by the PM. He said that it would not be ethical to do so.
Und the Health Secretary admitted that he turned down a broadcast interview yesterday due to his irritation at the video bombshell of No10 staff giggling over an alleged Lockdown-busting holiday gathering.
According to Mr Javid, it was a ‘proportionate’ decision to encourage people not to visit the office.
According to a poll, 63% of voters believe that the PM should step down.
Labour also had a four-point lead in the Redfield & Wilton poll, the largest since the 2019 general election.
Johnson stated that the restrictions are a proportionate response to an increase in Omicron cases at a Downing Street press conference.
He was accused of having accelerated Plan B restrictions to move the news agenda away form public outrage. This is based on claims that the No10 staff hosted a Christmas party in violation of strict lockdown rules last December.
William Wragg (Tory Chairman of the Commons Public Administration Committee) called this a “diversionary tactic”. Others MPs questioned how the government could expect people adhere to Covid rules, when no10 employees were accused of recklessly violating them.
Conservative backbenchers expressed their anger at the potential economic consequences of these curbs. They even shouted at Health Secretary Sajid Janid in the Commons and demanded that he resign.
As pictures of London stations appeared eerily silent, it seemed that people had already cast their votes today.