Under 40s might be offered booster jabs, while the interval between doses could be reduced in order to expedite the vaccine rollout. Boris Johnson has announced that he will be stepping up his efforts to combat the Omicron form of Covid-19.
The Prime Minister spoke at Downing Street’s press conference, saying that it was not yet known how vaccines would fare against this super-mutant strain. There are fears that jabs may be 40% less effective.
Johnson (57) confirmed that the Government will continue with its booster campaign. They plan to give out six million jabs to England over the course of the next three week.
To speed up rollout, he suggested booster jabs be available for more people than 40.
Mr Johnson also announced that face masks will be compulsory on public transport and in shops, while fully vaccinated arrivals to the UK will be required to self-isolate until they get a negative test, and all contacts of people infected with the Omicron mutation must stay at home for 10 days.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, confirmed hours earlier that two individuals had tested positive for the new variants in Nottingham and Essex. These cases may be related to southern African travel.
Boris Johnson (57) confirmed that the Government will continue with its booster campaign. They plan to give out six million jabs to England over the next three week.
Announcing a string of tightened restrictions at the press conference, Mr Johnson said: ‘We need to bolster our protections against this new variant.
Although we don’t know for sure how effective the vaccines against Omicron will be, there are many reasons to think they can provide protection.
“If your immune system is boosted, you will likely have a stronger response. It’s therefore more important than ever to get people their shots and get boosters in the arms of those who need them.
“We’re planning to increase the booster campaign. We’ve already planned to perform six million jabs alone in England over the next three week. Now we want to expand our reach.
In order to “buy time” for scientists, and to relieve strain on the NHS, the doctor also suggested that booster shots could be extended to those under forty and made available to them within six months of their first jab.
He said, “We must buy time so that our scientists understand what we are dealing with.” We need to buy time for our scientists to understand what we’re dealing with.
According to the Prime Minister, the temporary and precautionary measures will be evaluated in the next three weeks. Meanwhile, the Government’s vaccination experts will examine whether booster jabs should be extended to other age groups.
Professor Chris Whitty stated that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation should decide whether the booster vaccine can be extended to adult age 18 and whether a second dose should also be given to children 12-15 years old who have decided to receive the vaccine with their family.
The Prime Minister suggested that booster jabs, which are currently only available to over-40s, will be made available to more age groups to fight the Omicron variant (file image)
Whitty said that it was not clear whether the vaccine would be effective in protecting against this variant, but that those who have been vaccinated and receive booster jabs will likely be less susceptible to becoming seriously ill.
While he warned that the Omicron variant would spread quickly around the globe over the coming days, he also stated that the vast majority of UK cases will remain of the Delta variety.
Sir Patrick Vallance, a vaccine maker, said that they are currently looking for ways to improve the effectiveness of their jabs against new variants.
A vaccine specifically targeting the Omicron variant of Omicron can be made in about 100 days, according to Chief Scientific Adviser.
He stated that he believed there were three options for achieving this goal and that the Downing Street companies are focusing on this.
“The boosters are going to provide sufficient antibody coverage to actually cover the first.
“That is the first case and must be checked. That seems to be enough protection. We’ll need to find out if there are additional requirements.
“The second point is that vaccine companies have continued to produce larger vaccines in order to provide greater coverage of potential new varieties. These are currently in development.
“Then, some companies have already indicated that they are able to tweak vaccines in order to produce a specific vaccine against this disease within 100 days.
These are just three options. The best one is boost. Your immune system recognizes that you need to increase the coverage and keeps it there.
Omicron cases have been found in South Africa and Botswana as well as Israel, Israel, Hong Kong, Israel, and Belgium. Although it isn’t known if the variant arrived yesterday in the Netherlands, Dutch authorities have begun sequencing passenger tests.
Sajid Javid today announced that Britain sequenced two Omicron cases in Nottingham and Chelmsford.
“Because of the high antibody levels, there is enough coverage for other variants to render it effective.”
Today, the UK recorded another 39,567 Covid deaths and an additional 39.567 Covid cases. Department of Health officials posted nearly 40,000 daily infections – down 3.36 per cent from 40,941 last Saturday – while the number of people who have died 28 days after testing positive for Covid has also fallen by 12.7 per cent from 150 last week.
Professor Whitty appealed to all Americans to raise a glass to scientists responsible for creating the vaccines.
He stated, “If you can make one Christmas appeal? I would suggest that this Christmas people lift their glasses in gratitude to the amazing scientists who make the vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs.
The Welsh Government confirmed its intention to implement the same travel restrictions for international travelers as was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron. This is despite having warned the UK Government about potential dangers from removing existing restrictions.
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, urged the people to “act like if.” [Omicron]”It is already here” by wearing masks and washing their hands.
This is amid concerns that the super-mutant strain could make jabs 40% less effective. The World Health Organisation also called the Omicron-mutant mutation a variant of Concern’.
To slow down the spread of the disease, the Prime Minister proposed temporary and precautionary measures that would be reviewed within three weeks. He also announced an increase in the boost to the booster program.
According to a statement issued by 10 Downing Street, face covers will be mandatory in public places and shops from the ‘next Week’.
Following the press conference by Prime Minister, this statement stated: “Face covers will become compulsory in shops, and public transport starting next week. All other hospitality establishments will be exempt.
Johnson claimed that the Health Secretary Sajid Javid would soon establish exact guidelines for covering your face.
The UK recorded another 39,567 Covid deaths and an additional 39,567 Covid-positive cases today. Department of Health officials posted nearly 40,000 daily infections – down 3.36 per cent from 40,941 last Saturday – while the number of people who have died 28 days after testing positive for Covid has also fallen by 12.7 per cent from 150 last week
According to ZOE’s symptom-tracking study, symptoms of Covid rose nearly five percent last week. More than 76,000 Britons fell ill every day.
In a hurry, he also announced that the government was introducing a new testing program. Omicron contacts need to be self-isolated and any new Omicron arrivals must be quarantined for the coronavirus test. This is after the detection of two Omicron variants in the UK.
Four more countries – Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola – will be added to the no-fly list on Sunday.
Yesterday’s ban on all flights to South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho as well as Namibia, Eswatini and Eswatini was due to growing panic over the “variant of concern”, which is believed to be more transmissible than previously thought and poses a greater risk of reinfection.
Johnson said that travel restrictions are “sounding tough”, but added, “That’s just the way it’s supposed to be.”
However, he stated that the border measures cannot ‘only minimise or delay the arrival of new variants rather than prevent them all together. So all contact with any suspected case will be kept isolated for ten days, regardless if they are vaccinated.
Johnson added that they would ask you all to limit the spread by tightening rules regarding facecovers on public transport and in shops.
Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty stated that antiviral medications for Covid-19 (approved by the UK in March) need to be rethought due to the introduction of the new version.
“On anti-virals we will have to do some rethinking on the basis this new variant to ensure we get the correct indications,” he said.
“There are many ways to use it. What we must do is make certain that whatever we have of highly effective drugs we can use for the best possible purposes.
From November 11 through November 26, there was 48 direct flights to London Heathrow via Cape Town or Johannesburg. Two British Airways flights were operating daily during that period. One Virgin Atlantic flight was also flying per day. A plane carrying 300 people could indicate that 14400 South Africans have arrived since Omicron first became known.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, around 862,300 people were infected with the virus during the week ending November 20. This is 4.5 percent more than the 824,000.00 that was reported the previous week.
Yesterday, Mr Javid banned all flights to South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho as well as those from Eswatini (Zimbabwe), Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini.
“Wherever you are on the path, from the beginning… figuring out where they belong. We need to think about it and to ensure that we get the best variant.
Sajid Javid Health Secretary said, “This is a real reminder of the fact that this pandemic continues to rage.”
Following Professor Andrew Pollard’s creation of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccin, which was a result of his optimism about the effectiveness and safety of existing vaccines against the Omicron variant of serious illness, detection of the cases occurred.
It is also highly unlikely that it will lead to a “reboot” of the pandemic here in Britain. However, he expressed some hope that current jabs would still provide protection from the variant.
Sir Andrew also serves as the Chairman of Government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
On BBC Radio 4’s Today program, he stated that Omicron’s mutations are most common in regions found in other varieties. However, he added that although there is some speculation that Omicron’s vaccine might still protect against serious variants of Omicron, it will need to be confirmed over several weeks.
“It is extremely unlikely that there will be a repeat of the pandemic we witnessed last year in an unvaccinated population.”