[The Epoch Times, December 16, 2021](Reported by The Epoch Times UK Reporter Station) Recently, the new variant Omicron broke out and spread rapidly in the UK, and it has become the main virus variant in London. The British government has increased its efforts to provide vaccines, hoping to protect the people through vaccines.
Prime Minister Johnson stated that someone has been hospitalized because of the Omicron variant, and at least one death is related to the new variant. He believes that the best thing people can do right now is to get a booster vaccine.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid disclosed that as of December 13, 10 people in England had been hospitalized because of the new variant. He also said that although there are fewer than 5,000 new variant cases officially announced, the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the current number of new variant virus cases per day may be nearly 200,000.
The Health Protection Agency stated that most of the people who were hospitalized because of the new variant were between 18 and 85 years old, and most of them received two doses of the vaccine.
Experts from the Health Protection Agency said that early analysis showed that two doses of the vaccine were not enough to prevent people from contracting the new variants, but the third dose of the vaccine might prevent 70% to 75% of symptomatic infections.
Take multiple measures at the same time
The spread of Omicron in London is very fast, 40% of the newly discovered cases in the local area are it, and the proportion in England is about 20%. Some experts have called for some restrictions to be implemented in London to prevent the rapid spread of the virus.
The main response measures taken by the British government include encouraging vaccination and strengthening virus testing.
This week, the UK will begin to provide booster vaccines to all people in England over the age of 18. The goal is to provide all adults who want booster vaccines with the opportunity to be vaccinated by the end of this month. However, there is a three-month interval between the second dose of vaccine and the booster dose.
Previously, people over 30 years old could make appointments for booster vaccines in advance. At the same time, the UK will also provide people with opportunities to vaccinate without an appointment in many locations.
The United Kingdom will send 42 military teams to help provide vaccines. England will add additional vaccination locations and mobile vaccination teams. Clinics in many places will also extend business hours and train more volunteers to help vaccinate.
Prime Minister Johnson said: “I am worried that we are facing an urgent battle with the new Omicron variant. It is clear that two doses of vaccine are not enough to provide the degree of protection we need, but the good news is that our scientists are confident that we have a third dose. Vaccines, booster vaccines, we can restore the level of protection.”
The NHS website crashed for a while
Due to the aggressive new variants, more than 110,000 people wanted to make appointments for vaccinations. As a result, the NHS website crashed this Monday (December 13) morning.
Someone said that in order to be able to make an appointment for vaccination, log on to the website at 3 o’clock in the middle of the night. It is estimated that about 1 million people were vaccinated or scheduled for vaccination within 24 hours after Prime Minister Johnson called on people to receive the booster vaccine.
There are long lines in front of some centers where you can get vaccinated without an appointment. Residents in some places complain that they have to wait in line for five hours. Some people simply lined up in front of the door at 6 o’clock in the morning, and there were still two hours before the vaccination center opened.
The British government encourages people to start from December 14th. All people who have received two doses of the vaccine but are in close contact with a confirmed infection should be tested daily. As a result, there are many people who book rapid test kits, and the government website is not allowed. Do not suspend the provision of this service. However, Prime Minister Johnson said that people can still go to a pharmacy near their home to pick up a rapid test kit.
In addition, according to reports, in order to cope with the new variants, the NHS has required hospitals everywhere to move all healthy patients out of their wards and live in nursing homes or even hotels in order to free up enough beds.
The British government also recommends that people return to working at home, and the requirements for people to wear masks are further strengthened, including that masks must be worn in most indoor public places, such as theaters and movie theaters. It is also planned to require people to provide vaccine passes in nightclubs or other large venues, but this requirement needs to be approved by the Parliament. ◇
Editor in charge: Chen Bin
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