Sajid Javid, UK Health Secretary, left, and Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, during a press conference at 10 Downing Street in London, UK, on Tuesday, September 7, 2021.
Neil Hall | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON – UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday outlined the autumn-winter government’s plan to tackle the coronavirus crisis, detailing a number of policies aimed at avoiding the need for further blockades.
His comments come shortly after British officials gave the green light to offer Covid-19 vaccine boosts to vulnerable people and everyone over the age of 50 six months after their second dose.
The UK Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee said it recommended that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be used for the booster dose or alternatively a half dose of a Modern shot.
Javid said he had accepted this advice from the JCVI and the National Health Service of England hopes to start next week. The Welsh Minister for Health has accepted JCVI’s advice on booster vaccines.
Health and care policy is developed throughout the UK, with different provisions in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In addition, all children aged 12 to 15 in England will be offered a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. The measure, which follows in the footsteps of many other countries, is designed to help reduce education disruption.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to comment further on the country’s Covid fall-winter plan when he hosts a press conference from Downing Street in the afternoon.
Johnson is expected to state that he is strongly opposed to introducing blocking measures once again. It is also considered likely to set aside the country’s so-called “traffic light” system for overseas travel and it is expected that the countries at the highest risk “red list” will be significantly reduced.
What is the plan?
Addressing House of Commons lawmakers, Javid outlined what he described as the government’s “five pillars” of the Covid fall-winter plan. These pillars referred to vaccine capture, testing, tracing and isolation, supporting the NHS and government social care, guidance and communication, and an international approach to the pandemic.
Among the policies, Javid said he would continue to support those who isolated themselves, and that PCR tests would continue to be available for free, as would asymptomatic lateral flow tests.
Contact tracking through the NHS testing and tracking system is also expected to continue and financial and practical support will be provided for those eligible.
The health secretary suggested it was “very likely” that health personnel and those working in social care settings would face the mandatory Covid vaccines to protect those around them.
People will be encouraged to gather outdoors whenever possible during the fall and winter period in order to keep seasonal respiratory illnesses, such as the flu and Covid, at bay, Javid said. The government will also try to publish a new framework for international travel.
If the NHS were to come under “unsustainable” pressure in the coming months, Javid said the government had a “plan B” of contingency measures that could be implemented in England. These include the possibility of masks being mandatory in certain settings, vaccination passports for events, and encouraging remote work.
Winter can be “sometimes bumpy”
Professor Neil Ferguson, a leading epidemiologist at Imperial College London, said earlier this week that a nationwide closure could not be “completely” ruled out in the coming months.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program on Monday, Ferguson was asked if another blockade would be needed after the country’s vaccination. “I hope so,” he said. “I don’t think anything can be ruled out completely, but I hope so.”
“I think with that level of immunity we have in the population, if we need to reduce transmission, it may not require a complete blockade,” Ferguson said.
To date, the UK has reported nearly 7.3 million Covid cases and 134,587 deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
On Monday, the country reported 30,825 new cases of coronavirus and 61 deaths in the 28 days following the positive test. It compares with 29,173 infections and 56 fatalities recorded on Sunday, while last week more than 41,000 cases and 45 deaths were reported.
The British deputy medical director, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, warned on Tuesday that the coronavirus crisis in the coming months could be “sometimes bumpy”.
He said “other respiratory viruses” are likely to have a return during this period, and said the government’s goal was to “keep up to date.”
In winter, people tend to spend more time indoors grouped together, with less ventilation and less personal space than in summer.
Respiratory infections, such as coronaviruses, are spread by drops that are released when a person coughs or sneezes. Health experts say the coldest, driest conditions in winter severely affect the transmission of flu-like diseases.