LONDON (AP) – The UK began offering coronavirus vaccinations to anyone over the age of 45 on Tuesday, after reaching its target of giving at least one dose to anyone over the age of 50 by mid-April.
Despite the good news, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that Britain would inevitably see “more hospitalizations and deaths” as it came out of the blockade. Non-essential shops, hairdressers, gyms, restaurant terraces and beer gardens reopened on Monday in England.
A few days before the self-imposed deadline of April 15, the government said that all those in its priority groups – over 50, health workers and people with serious medical conditions – were offered a jab, and about 95% of they received one. Over 32 million people, over 60% of adults in the country, had a first shot and almost 15% of adults received both doses.
Vaccine eligibility was extended on Tuesday to people aged 45 to 49, the start of the second phase of the inoculation campaign. The government aims to offer everyone over the age of 18 at least one dose by July 31.
The move came the day after some lock-in rules in place for more than three months were lifted in England. Relieved residents gathered in areas such as London’s Soho district, where meals were packed on narrow streets that were closed to traffic.
Officials in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are reducing their restrictions to slightly different steps. Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that the “stay local” order will be lifted on Friday, when people will be able to travel around the country and meet others outdoors.
Politicians and scientists have tried to quell the euphoria of freedoms with a warning that the virus is still a major threat.
The UK had the deadliest outbreak of coronavirus in Europe, with over 127,000 confirmed deaths. A combination of rapid vaccination and blockade suddenly lowered infection and mortality rates.
Of course, the vaccination program helped, but most of the work in reducing the disease was done by blocking, Johnson said.
“So, as we unlock, the result will inevitably be that we will see more infections. Unfortunately, we will see more hospitalizations and deaths. People just came to understand that, “he said.
Several of Britain’s neighbors, including France, have imposed new curbs as virus cases increase.
Chris Hopson, executive director of NHS Providers, agreed that there were “good reasons to be cautious” about the trajectory of the British pandemic.
“We have to be really careful to assume that we are in a unique, inexorable, inevitable direction, so that everything is fantastic and we can return to normal, because in fact we will need a new normal,” Hopson said.
The pace of Britain’s vaccination boost has slowed in recent weeks, with the number of first doses falling sharply as the campaign focuses on taking two photos.
Like many other countries, the UK is also receiving fewer doses than expected, partly as a result of India’s decision to stop exports of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from its Serum Institute.
The UK has ordered 30 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, although UK regulators have not yet approved its use. Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it was delaying the launch of the vaccine in Europe against the background of an American investigation into the formation of rare blood clots in some recipients.
The UK inoculation effort has so far used the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech. The United Kingdom also ordered 17 million doses of a vaccine produced by the American pharmaceutical company Moderna, with the first batches arriving earlier this month.
Moderna doses will be given primarily to younger people, following the UK’s decision last week not to give AstraZeneca jab to people under the age of 30 because of strong evidence that it could be linked to rare blood clots.
Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization in the UK, said that so far the vaccination campaign has meant “we are halfway up the hill”.
“We certainly have important work to do to communicate the importance of the vaccination program to younger people,” Finn told Sky News. “They may be less afraid of this disease than older people have understood, but I still believe that people can be helped to understand that the final way out of this catastrophe involves the development of immunity in the population.”
Health authorities are also concerned about new variants that are more resistant to vaccines. They call for all those living or working in two neighborhoods in south London to be tested after 44 cases of the strain first identified in South Africa were confirmed there.
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