LONDON (AP) – The UK government plans to offer a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to every adult by September as the country’s health care system weathering its worst crisis in its 72-year history.
Secretary of State Dominic Raab said on Sunday that the government will soon begin a trial of 24-hour injections in some locations as it continues to add more vaccination sites to speed up delivery. The National Health Service opened a mass vaccination center in historic Salisbury Cathedral on Saturday, where injections were accompanied by organ music.
“Our goal is to give the entire adult population a first dose by September,” he told Sky News. “If we can do it faster, great, but that’s the roadmap.”
Great Britain has more than 51 million adults in a population of 67.5 million people.
The ambitious vaccination program comes amid crushing pressure on the National Health Service. Hospitals already under siege are admitting a different COVID-19 patient every 30 seconds, putting the service in its most precarious situation ever, said Simon Stevens, NHS England CEO.
“The facts are very clear and I am not going to soften them, hospitals are under extreme pressure and staff are under extreme pressure,” he told the BBC. “Since Christmas Day, we have seen another 15,000 increase in hospital admissions to hospitals across England. That is equivalent to filling 30 hospitals full of coronavirus patients. “
The UK health care system is dizzying as doctors and nurses battle a more contagious variant of the coronavirus coupled with cold, wet winter weather that is driving people indoors where infections are more likely to spread.
The rise in infections has pushed the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 to a record 37,475, more than 73% higher than during the pandemic’s first peak in April. Britain has reported 88,747 deaths from coronavirus, more than any other country in Europe and the fifth highest number worldwide.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered England to enter its third national lockdown on January 2 in an effort to slow the spread of the virus and protect the NHS, which, according to Stevens, now has some 50,000 workers off work due to COVID-19 infections and exposure quarantines.
The government says it will not review lockdown measures until mid-February, by which time it plans to offer at least one dose of the vaccine to anyone over 70, as well as primary care health workers and others particularly vulnerable to COVID. -19.
Once that goal is achieved, the UK will offer the vaccine to anyone over 50 and eventually to anyone over 18.
Unlike other countries, Britain has chosen to extend the time between vaccine doses from 21 days to a maximum of 12 weeks – a decision that means more people will get at least one dose faster.
Britain has approved three vaccines – those from Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Moderna. The first two are already being used, while Moderna doses are not expected until spring.
Meanwhile, vaccination centers are opening in England at some of the country’s great cathedrals. Salisbury Cathedral, which also houses a copy of the Magna Carta, opened its grand nave to the public. Others will follow as the rollout progresses.
Organ music played while the jabs were being delivered in Salisbury. Requests have been granted.
“I doubt anyone will get an injection in an environment more beautiful than this one, so I hope it will relieve people as they enter the building,” said Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, Dean of Salisbury.
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