The UK has announced an accelerated vaccine booster program amid a rise in omicron Covid cases.
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there is no assurance the government will be able to keep schools open in England as the government struggles to contain the spread of the ommicron Covid-19 strain.
“When it comes to our fight against the pandemic, there are no guarantees,” Javid told LBC radio on Monday, as he detailed plans to offer all adults in England a booster vaccination by the end of December. “We are once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus.”
His comments point to the balancing act ministers face as they try to respond to a wave of infections, even as a growing number of politicians in the ruling Conservative Party threaten to rise up against new restrictions.
In a hastily arranged televised address at the end of Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK is facing an emergency due to omicron and announced an accelerated booster program to help the country through the crisis.
But the numbers involved show how quickly new curbs can become necessary. Johnson said the National Health Service must match its best vaccination day yet — 844,000 in March — and then beat it “day after day” to meet its goal of providing all adults with a booster by the new year.
More boosters
The UK is deploying military planning teams to assist with the rollout, with new branches and vaccine centers open seven days a week. The government will “throw everything on the schedule,” Javid said.
The move comes after the Johnson administration imposed a number of restrictions in recent days, including mandatory face coverings in indoor public areas and reducing guidance for people to work from home.
Still, scientific advisers, including Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser to the UK Health Security Agency, suggested on Sunday that additional measures may be needed soon to prevent an increase in hospital admissions.
An additional 48,854 confirmed cases were announced Sunday, bringing the seven-day average to 51,497 cases per day. Javid told Sky News on Monday that of the roughly 3,000 ommicron cases in England, about 10 people had been hospitalized and no deaths had been reported.
Tighten up rules
Further tightening would be risky for Johnson, who has committed significant political capital to keep rallies and other festive activities going this Christmas and who is faced with an increasingly troubled Tory party.
Johnson’s authority with his party and in public health coverage has weakened in recent weeks after a steady stream of damaging allegations surrounding Covid-19 rule-breaking Christmas parties last year.
This could be reflected in a series of votes on the new Covid rules in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Rebel Conservative MP Steve Baker estimates that around 60 colleagues will vote against Johnson, further undermining his leadership.
Still, the measures are expected to be passed as the opposition Labor party is expected to vote for them. The real risk to Johnson lies in what comes next, if the current rules and booster program prove insufficient against ommicron.
“We need to get those third doses to as many adults as possible,” Robert Read, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunization, told LBC radio on Monday. “Just in case this virus turns out to be a raging bull.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
