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Britain in 'race against time' to roll out COVID-19 vaccines, says PM Johnson

So far, 2.3 million Britons have got their first shot of the vaccination

TOPSHOT-BRITAIN-HEALTH-VIRUS-POLITICS-AID UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson | AFP

Britain, as it rushes to roll out coronavirus vaccines, is at 'worst point' of pandemic, says Health Secretary Matthew Hancock. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the meantime said that the country was in a “race against time,” to roll out the vaccine as deaths hit record highs and hospitals ran out of oxygen. 

Johnson's top medical adviser said the worst weeks of the pandemic were imminent. So far, 2.3 million Britons have got their first shot of the vaccination. The death toll in the UK in the meantime currently stands at 81,000— fifth highest in the world. Britain has also reported 3 million people to have tested positive for the virus since it broke out in the country in February. 

"I know there has been speculation about more restrictions, and we don't rule out taking further action if it is needed, but it is your actions now that can make a difference," Hancock told BBC. He also said that the new strain of the virus is putting the NHS under “immense pressure,” and people should limit their social interactions. 

As Britain gears up to rush out its largest vaccination programme with shots offered to more than 15 million people by mid-February, Johnson said, “It's a race against time because we can all see the threat that our NHS faces, the pressure it's under, the demand in intensive care units, the pressure on ventilated beds, even the shortage of oxygen in some places.” 

“This is a very perilous moment. The worst thing now for us is to allow success in rolling out a vaccine programme to breed any kind of complacency about the state of the pandemic,” he added. 

"We're now at the worst point of this epidemic for the UK. In the future, we will have the vaccine, but the numbers at the moment are higher than they were in the previous peak — by some distance," England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty told BBC. He also said that the situation was bound to deteriorate. 

Currently, there are over 30,000 patients are hospitalised in Britain. The first peak was in April when over 18,000 people were in hospitals. According to Whitty, one in 30 people in London are infected. 

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