LONDON (AP) – The UK announced on Sunday that it has achieved its goal of administering at least one COVID-19 vaccine to the country’s most vulnerable people, raising pressure on ministers to clarify when they will ease the blockade imposed in early January.
More than 15 million people, or 22% of the UK population, received their first blow. The figure includes most people in the government’s top four priority groups, including all those over the age of 75, front-line healthcare workers and nursing home staff and residents. More than 537,000 of them also received the second dose.
“15,000,000! An amazing team, “Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi said in a tweet with a red heart and three syringes. “We will not rest until we offer the vaccine for the entire phase 1 categories 1-9 of the most vulnerable and over 50 years until the end of April and then all adults.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to unveil his roadmap for reducing restrictions on February 22, amid signs that rates of infections, hospitalizations and deaths have fallen sharply since the start of England’s third national blockade on January 4.
“This country has done an extraordinary job – administering a total of 15 million blows to the arms of some of the most vulnerable people in the country,” Johnson said in a tweet.
Johnson said in England that all four priority groups had been given the vaccine. He plans to release further details about the vaccination effort on Monday.
Jockeying has already begun between those who want the measures lifted as soon as possible and those who fear they are moving too fast will lead to a recurrence of the virus.
The United Kingdom made a breakthrough in its vaccination effort in December, when it became the first country to authorize the widespread use of a COVID-19 shot. It ranks only Israel, 73%, Seychelles, 53% and the United Arab Emirates, 51% in the percentage of people who received a single dose, according to Oxford University. The US is fifth at 15%.
At the same time, coronavirus blocking rules that have shut down non-essential schools, restaurants and shops in the UK are beginning to bear fruit. The number of new infections, hospitalizations and deaths recorded in the last seven days decreased by more than 20% compared to the previous week.
When Johnson announced the blockade, he said the government would review the measures in mid-February based on their success in controlling the pandemic and progress in the vaccination effort. Johnson’s first priority is to reopen schools, and he has promised to give schools two weeks’ notice to give teachers time to prepare.
The UK has reported more than 117,000 deaths from the virus, the largest number of pandemics in Europe.
Mark Harper, a ruling Conservative MP, warned the government against “moving the pillars” to decide when to ease the blockade.
Johnson should start by reopening schools and then gradually lifting other restrictions as more people are vaccinated, said Harper, who leads a group of about 70 lawmakers who have pressured the government to consider the economic impact. and negative social restrictions along with health benefits. .
“Once you’ve protected people from serious illness and death, I don’t think these draconian restrictions on not being able to meet your family, not seeing your friends, not seeing your children, not seeing you parents, not to visit people in care homes, do not think they are more justified, “Harper told Times Radio.
Following the goal of reaching the most vulnerable, the British authorities will progressively extend the vaccination effort to the next five priority groups until all vulnerable people over 50 and young people with health conditions that put them at higher risk of the vaccine will be provided.
Public health officials say the top nine priority groups account for 99% of COVID-19 deaths so far.
While vaccines currently authorized for use in the UK require two doses to provide complete protection against COVID-19, the British authorities say one dose provides a significant level of protection.
Because of this, they have made it their priority to give the first dose to as many people as possible. To do this, the UK intends to administer the second dose after three months, instead of one month, as recommended by the manufacturers.
Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust health think tank, said the number of COVID-19 infections in the UK is still too high to think about lifting restrictions.
“We have made enormous progress … but the transmission is incredibly high and we need to reduce it,” he said.
There are other dangers on the horizon. Scientific advisers to the British government say that the predominant COVID-19 variant now in the country can be up to 70% more deadly than previous variants, highlighting concerns about how mutations can change the characteristics of the disease.
The findings of the advisory group on threats to the new and emerging respiratory virus, published on the government’s website on Friday, are based on preliminary research launched on 21 January. The group, known as NERVTAG, includes experts from universities and public agencies in the UK.
The new report is based on the analysis of a dozen studies that found that the so-called Kent variant, named after the county in which it was first identified, is probably 30% to 70% more deadly than other variants. The studies compared hospitalization and death rates among people infected with the variant and those infected with other variants.
The results of the analysis are worrying, said Dr. David Strain, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School and clinical leader for COVID at Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.
Higher transmissibility means that people who were previously at low risk of catching COVID (especially younger female installers) now catch it and end up in the hospital, Strain said. “This is highlighted by the latest hospitalization figures which now suggest almost 50:50 male-female ratio compared to this being predominant in men during the first wave.”
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