UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on Sunday, said that the UK faces a 'tidal wave' of the Omicron variant and that two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine won't be sufficient to contain it. Johnson announced a rollout of the booster shot.
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“A tidal wave of Omicron is coming,” Johnson said in a televised statement on Sunday evening. “And I’m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need.” Johnson spoke hours after government scientists raised the COVID alert level to 4 on a 5-point scale.
The booster rollout will be "a national mission unlike anything we have done before in the vaccination program," Johnson said. The initiative will be called, 'Omicron Emergency Boost'. Johnson urged everyone to get a booster shot and added that all eligible individuals will get a booster shot by end of December. Scotland is setting a similar target to get all adults a booster shot by end of the year.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid, on Monday, said that ten people in England are hospitalised due to the Omicron variant. Johnson also said that the NHS is likely to be overwhelmed by hospitalisations due to the cases as the Omicron variant is more transmissible. He also went on to say, “all primary care services will now focus on urgent clinical need and vaccines, and some non-urgent appointments and elective surgeries may be postponed until the New Year while every adult in the country is jabbed."
"We have seen what Covid is capable of... you start seeing a rise in cases, people get ill, some enter the hospital, some sadly die.” "It's better to act early," Johnson added.
Lines built up at big London vaccination clinics on Monday morning. The government's appointment-booking website struggled to keep up with demand. The National Health Service advised people to try accessing the site later in the day or on Tuesday if they were having problems. Over 80 per cent of people age 12 and up in Britain have received two vaccine doses, and 40 per cent of adults have had three.
Health authorities said early evidence shows omicron is spreading much faster than the currently dominant delta variant, with cases doubling every two to three days, and Omicron is likely to replace delta as the dominant strain in the UK. Concerns about the new variant led Johnson's Conservative government to reintroduce restrictions that were lifted almost six months ago. Masks must be worn in most indoor settings, COVID-19 certificates must be shown to enter nightclubs and as of Monday, people were urged to work from home, if possible.
-- With PTI inputs