LONDON (AP) – Britain on Tuesday began offering coronavirus vaccines to all over-45s after meeting the target of giving at least one dose to all over-50s in mid-April.
Despite the good news, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the UK would inevitably see “more hospitalization and deaths” when it comes out of closure. Shops, hairdressers, gyms, restaurant courtyards and non-essential breweries reopened on Monday in England.
Days before the April 15 deadline, the government said all priority groups (over 50s, health workers and people with serious medical problems) were punched and that about 95% received one. More than 32 million people, more than 60% of the country’s adults, have had a first shot and nearly 15% of adults have received both doses.
Eligibility for the vaccine was extended on Tuesday to people aged 45 to 49, the start of the second phase of the inoculation campaign. The government intends to give all those over the age of 18 at least one dose before July 31st.
The decision came the day after some blockade rules in place for more than three months in England were lifted. Relieved residents flocked to areas such as London’s Soho nightclub, where tables were packed into narrow streets closed to traffic.
Officials in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are reducing their restrictions at slightly different rates. Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that a “local stay” order would be lifted on Friday, when people can travel within the country and meet other people outdoors.
Politicians and scientists tried to alleviate the euphoria by returning some freedoms with the warning that the virus still poses a major threat.
Britain has had the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in Europe, with more than 127,000 confirmed deaths. A combination of rapid vaccination and blockade has drastically reduced their infection and mortality rates.
“Of course, the vaccination program has helped, but most of the work in reducing the disease has been done through blocking,” Johnson said.
“Thus, as we unblock, the result will inevitably be that we see more infection. Unfortunately, we will see more hospitalization and deaths. People just understand that, ”he said.
Several residents of Britain, including France, have imposed new blocking limits as virus cases soar.
Chris Hopson, executive director of the health services organization NHS Providers, agreed that there were “good reasons to be cautious” about the trajectory of the British pandemic.
“We have to be very careful when assuming that we are going in a one-way, inexorable and inevitable path so that everything is fantastic and we can return to normal, because we will really need a new normal,” Hopson said.
The pace of British vaccination has slowed in recent weeks, with a number of first doses falling sharply as the campaign focuses on administering second vaccines.
Like many other countries, Britain is also receiving fewer doses than expected, in part as a result of India’s decision to stop exports of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from its Serum Institute.
Britain has ordered 30 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, although British regulators have not yet approved its use. Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it was delaying the vaccine’s implementation in Europe in the middle of an American investigation on rare blood clots in some receptors.
To date, the UK inoculation effort has used the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and one made by Pfizer-BioNTech. Britain has also ordered 17 million doses of a vaccine manufactured by the American pharmaceutical company Modern, and the first batches arrive earlier this month.
Moderna doses will be given mainly to younger people, following Britain’s decision last week not to give the AstraZeneca jab to people under 30, as it strengthens evidence that it could be related to rare blood clots. blood.
Adam Finn, a member of the UK’s Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee, said the vaccination campaign so far meant “we are halfway up the hill”.
“We certainly need to do important work to communicate the importance of the vaccination program to the youngest,” Finn told Sky News. “They may be less afraid of this disease than the elderly which is understandable, but I think it can help to understand that the definitive way out of this catastrophe is to increase the immunity of the population.”
Health authorities are also concerned about new variants that are more resistant to vaccines. They call for everyone living or working in two districts in south London to be tested after 44 cases of a strain first identified in South Africa have been confirmed.
___
Follow AP pandemic coverage at:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak