UK extends COVID vaccine booster program amid 'storm clouds'

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Monday of a “blizzard” of caller coronavirus infections coming into the U.K. from continental Europe, arsenic his authorities extended the vaccine booster programme to younger radical successful an effort to bolster waning immunity levels during the wintertime months.

With concerns mounting astir a caller question of the pandemic successful Europe, the autarkic assemblage of scientists that makes vaccine recommendations to the British authorities said radical aged 40 to 49 volition besides beryllium eligible for a vaccine booster changeable six months aft their archetypal shot.

Up until now, radical aged 50 and over, arsenic good arsenic those moving successful hospitals and attraction homes, and younger radical deemed to beryllium vulnerable, had been eligible for the Pfizer oregon Moderna vaccine boosters.

The Joint Committee connected Vaccination and Immunization besides said that 2nd doses of the Pfizer vaccine person besides been approved for 16 and 17-year-olds 12 weeks aft their first. There has been nary alteration successful the counsel for 12-15-year-olds, with the U.K. inactive lone offering a azygous dose of vaccine.

It said the the broadening of the booster run and the connection of a 2nd jab to older teenagers volition “help widen our extortion into 2022.”

Accepting the recommendations, Johnson urged radical to get their booster to get the other level of extortion arsenic pandemic “storm clouds” were gathering implicit Europe, which has seen caller lockdowns imposed successful Austria and the Netherlands.

“A caller question of COVID has steadily swept done cardinal Europe and is present affecting our nearest neighbours successful Western Europe,” helium said. “Our friends connected the continent person been forced to respond with assorted degrees of caller restrictions, from afloat lockdowns, to lockdowns for the unvaccinated, to restrictions connected concern opening hours and restrictions connected societal gatherings.”

Compared to astir different countries successful Europe, the U.K. has recorded high, but comparatively stable, levels of coronavirus infections successful caller months pursuing the lifting of astir restrictions successful the summer. However, successful the past fewer weeks, a fig of European countries person seen crisp corruption spikes, prompting renewed concerns astir the outlook for the U.K.

“We don’t yet cognize the grade to which this caller question volition lavation up connected our shores, but past shows we cannot spend to beryllium complacent,” Johnson said.

There person been signs implicit the past fewer days of a renewed uptick successful cases successful the U.K. peculiarly among students. More than 260,000 confirmed infections were recorded successful the past week, up 6% connected the erstwhile week.

The authorities has truthful acold resisted reimposing mandatory laws specified arsenic requiring radical to deterioration masks indoors oregon introducing vaccine passports.

Johnson said determination was thing presently successful the information which suggested a request to summation restrictions successful England, nether its contingency Plan B though helium would not regularisation retired much restrictions if the unit connected the National Health Service becomes untenable. Currently, the fig of radical successful infirmary with the microorganism is astir 8,500, which though precocious is acold down connected the adjacent 40,000 successful January. Daily COVID deaths are moving astatine astir 150, taking the full to astir 143,000, Europe’s 2nd highest down Russia.

A raft of grounds implicit caller weeks has shown that immunity levels among double-jabbed individuals starts to wane a fewer months aft the 2nd dose of vaccine, though they are inactive acold little apt to endure terrible illness than those who are unvaccinated.

“What’s happening is if you tin get your booster past your immunity goes close backmost up to 95%,” helium said. “So acold we’ve got 75% of everybody implicit 70 getting a booster, that’s a immense fig of people, but it’s that further 25% that volition marque each the quality to winter, to Christmas, to our plans going forward, due to the fact that it’s that other level of extortion that we truly need.”

The enlargement of the booster programme comes arsenic a caller survey from the U.K. Health Security Agency showed adults implicit 50 had astatine slightest 93% reduced hazard of getting a symptomatic lawsuit of COVID-19 2 weeks aft their booster.

The government’s main aesculapian adviser, Chris Whitty, said much restrictions whitethorn beryllium indispensable if cases commencement to emergence astatine the aforesaid gait arsenic immoderate countries successful Europe.

“They’re not presently going up successful the benignant of numbers you’re seeing successful continental Europe, but evidently if they did that would beryllium a concern wherever we would person to look again,” helium said.

“I deliberation we person got a hard wintertime up of us,” helium added.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

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