U.K. Speeds Vaccine Push to Offer All Adults Shot by July 31
by Bloomberg · Daily Maverick(Bloomberg) --The U.K. will significantly accelerate its Covid-19 vaccination program, offering shots to all adults by the end of July and everyone over 50 by mid-April as the government beefs up efforts to contain one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the coronavirus.
By Deirdre Hipwell
Feb 21, 2021, 12:30 AM – Updated on Feb 21, 2021, 10:42 AM
Word Count: 566
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out the new targets on Monday when he reveals his “roadmap” to easing lockdowns. It is the first time the government has given a firm target for offering all adults their initial dose, having previously said it hoped to do so by autumn. The previous goal set for over-50s was the end of May. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky TV Sunday the U.K. had enough supply to meet the new targets.
So far, more than 17 million people have been inoculated, around 30% of the adult population, making Britain a world leader in Covid vaccinations. The success of the program contrasts with the government’s failure to contain the initial outbreak and spread of Covid-19. The U.K. now has Europe’s highest death toll with more than 120,000 victims of the pandemic.
The U.K. is now more than a month into its third national lockdown with schools closed and most businesses shuttered. With the economy suffering its worst recession in more than 300 years and cases and deaths falling rapidly, the prime minister is under growing pressure to lift lockdown curbs. Johnson, who was hospitalized with Covid-19 in April of last year, insists he will proceed with caution to make sure the current lockdown is the country’s last.
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Cases surged to record levels in the U.K. early this year as an easing of social distancing during the holiday period coincided with the spread of the highly-infectious U.K. variant. The latest lockdown, coupled with the vaccine program, has reversed that trend. Health authorities reported 10,406 new cases on Saturday, down from the peak week in January when cases averaged almost 60,000 a day.
Going forward, Johnson is planning to complement the rapid-fire vaccination program with mass testing in workplaces, schools, shopping centers and theaters to help chart Britain’s way out of the pandemic crisis.
Johnson said Britain had already achieved a significant milestone recording 15 million vaccinations by Feb. 15 to meet the government’s initial target, but the rollout needs to “go further and faster in the coming weeks.
“But there should be no doubt — the route out of lockdown will be cautious and phased, as we all continue to protect ourselves and those around us,” he said in an emailed statement.
READ MORE: Why Even With Vaccines, Covid Will Always Be With Us: QuickTake
The government has yet to outline how it will roll out vaccinations to the under-50s and whether it will stick to age as the dominant criteria or prioritize other groups, such as critical workers including police and firefighters and teachers.
Jonathan Ashworth, a Labour member of parliament and shadow health secretary, said the government needs to prioritize by occupation in the next rollout phase or explain why it can’t.
“It’s perfectly reasonable for teachers, police officers and other key workers who haven’t been able to stay at home in the lockdown to ask when their turn will be,” he said in an emailed statement.
(Updates with health minister comments in)
–With assistance from Emily Ashton.
© 2021 Bloomberg L.P.
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