UK’s ‘staggering’ omicron surge offers warnings for the U.S.
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On December 14, 2021, members of the public waited in line at St Thomas Hospital for Covid-19 vaccines and booster jabs. This was London, England.
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LONDON — The U.K. is being engulfed by a tidal wave of Covid cases, with a growing number linked to the omicron Covid variant, as it races to give booster shots to as many people as possible.
Early studies show booster shotsRestore some vaccine protection that was lost from a natural waning in immunity. If we are infected, our bodies will be able to resist the omicron variant.
Given the urgency of protecting citizens and preventing overcrowding, the U.K., U.S., and European countries are now accelerating booster shot programs.
It is particularly being watched by the U.K. as it is seeing what Boris Johnson predicted would be a “tidal flood” of Covid cases. Despite having a higher deployment rate for its booster shots than either the U.S. or EU, it still has an edge over them.
“The pace at which [the booster]Rollout in all four countries has been so successful that the U.K. currently has double the amount of boosters per head than EU and over twice as many Americans.” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday He urged people to boost their spirits as fast as they could.
Let’s go on. Keep giving both omicron barrels. We need to slow the spread of this disease and give vaccines more time.
Over 24 million people are now able to get a booster shot in the United Kingdom, with 43% receiving their third dose.
This data will likely be for adults. However, since Wednesday anyone over 18 in England can order a booster dose as long as their last dose was at least 3 months ago. If you are 16 or older and have a medical condition that increases your risk for Covid, then you can also request it.
On Wednesday, more than 650,000 booster doses were given in the U.K. in an effort to quickly get shot into the arms. This national effort involves the army, mobile vaccine centers, pharmacies, and legions volunteers.
This is because omicron case numbers are increasing by the day in this country. This Wednesday was the U.K.’s highest ever daily number of Covid casesThere have been 78610 new infections since the start of the pandemic.
Accelerating Booster Rollout in the U.S.A., EU
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are located in the U.S. notes on its websiteThis 7-day moving mean of daily new cases (118 515) is 37.3% lower than its predecessor (86 315).
Data from the CDC shows that 30% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older have had a booster shot. 52.3% of those over 65 have also received a third dose.
The EU data shows, however, that as of Dec. 15, just under 81,000,000 third doses were delivered. This is roughly 18% of all EU and European Economic Area residents (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway).
France and Germany have had around 27% and 2.3%, respectively, of their adult population take the booster shot despite high levels of Covid in both countries. On Wednesday, Germany had reported over 51,000 infections and France 63,000.
Omicron poses dangers
Experts believe that omicron will be the predominant variant in the future, as it is more easily transmissible than delta.
As it was not designated by the World Health Organization Nov. 26, it’s too soon to know if this causes severe illnesses.
As there is more indoor mixing during the Christmas season, this can also aid in spreading the variant. British experts advise that people limit socializing when possible.
On Wednesday, Dr Jenny Harries (chief executive of U.K. Health Security Agency) stated that the rate of infection is so high that it would not be surprising for the Omicron variant to grow in the future. The UKHSA tweeted that Wednesday’s U.K. counted 4,671 more cases of omicron. This brings the total number of cases to 10,017. As of Tuesday, 5,346 omicron cases were reported.
One Bright spotThe relative ease the U.K. has in encouraging vaccination uptake could explain the long queues outside of vaccine centers this week. Around 81% of people aged 12 and over have received at least two Covid vaccinations. The United Kingdom was among the first to begin vaccinating.
The country also experiences a lower level of vaccination hesitancy than many countries. An Ipsos survey conducted in conjunction with the World Economic Forum this time last year — when Covid vaccines were only just starting to be rolled out in Britain — found that 77% of U.K. adults surveyed said they intended to receive a Covid vaccine, and hesitancy rates have fallen over the last year.
A comparison is made in that 69% (those surveyed in America) said they would get the vaccine, and 40% in France where the question was asked.
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