Long queues form as UK starts booster blitz against omicron

Long queues form as UK starts booster blitz against omicron

SeattlePI.com

Published

LONDON (AP) — Long lines formed at vaccination centers in Britain as people heeded the government’s call for all adults to get booster shots to protect against the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which the prime minister said Monday has caused at least one death.

In a televised announcement late Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said everyone 18 and up would be offered a third vaccine dose by Dec. 31 — less than three weeks away, and a month earlier than the previous target.

“We are now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant, omicron,” Johnson said. He said boosters would “reinforce our wall of vaccine protection” against an anticipated “tidal wave of omicron.”

U.K. health authorities say omicron cases are doubling every two to three days in Britain, and it will replace delta as the dominant strain within days. But it's unclear whether the expected wave of infections will inundate the country's health system.

About 10 people are in U.K. hospitals with COVID-19 caused by omicron, and Johnson on Monday reported the country's first COVID-19 death involving the variant.

Scientists in South Africa, where omicron was first identified, say they see signs the variant may cause less severe disease than delta but cautioned it was too soon to be certain. Health authorities around the world are watching Britain closely to see what an omicron surge looks like in a country with an older, more highly vaccinated population than South Africa's.

The U.K. Health Security Agency says existing vaccines appear less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to omicron, though effectiveness appears to rise to between 70% and 75% after a third vaccine dose.

More than 80% of people age 12 and up in Britain have received two vaccine doses, and 40%...

Full Article