COVID-19: Boris Johnson lauds UK citizens getting booster jabs, says 'fantastic effort'

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to get a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine in light of recent concerns sparked by the newly discovered Omicron coronavirus variant and lauded those who have registered for a booster dose. He informed that an 'incredible' 20 million people "have come forward to get boosted".   

Johnson took to Twitter to encourage UK citizens to not give the virus "a second chance." He wrote, "I’ve had my booster. Please get yours as soon as you get called. We cannot give the virus a second chance."

Vaccines are the most effective way to protect people against COVID-19, and in light of the new Omicron variant and advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI), the UK government is expanding the booster programme to all adults over the age of 18, with all those eligible receiving a top-up jab by the end of January. UK is also halving the gap between doses to protect more people more quickly. Around 20 million people in the United Kingdom were estimated to have received their third vaccinations as of Sunday, December 5.

Booster jab 'best way to protect you and your family': Boris Johnson

Encouraging people to get the COVID vaccine booster jabs, British PM Johnson said, "It's the best way to protect you and your family."   

Last week, over one million appointments (1,077,514) for booster shots were booked in England. The UK is expected to deploy around 400 military soldiers, with 1,500 community pharmacy facilities, additional hospital hubs, and pop-up sites at convenient locations across the country to ramp up the vaccination programme, according to a government statement. 

The statement informed that the UK government's aim is to safeguard the most vulnerable people first and therefore everyone over the age of 40 who received their second dose at least three months ago will soon be eligible to schedule a booster shot. In due course, the NHS will invite younger age groups for the booster doses. Notably, on Wednesday, December 8, the United Kingdom will mark one year since Margaret Keenan in Coventry became the first person in the world to get a licenced COVID-19 vaccine.

'Top-up jabs improve protection against symptomatic COVID-19 people to over 90%'

The UK Health Security Agency's first real-world investigation on the effectiveness of booster immunisations against the Delta variant found that two weeks after vaccination, top-up jabs improve protection against symptomatic COVID-19 in people aged 50+ to over 90%, according to the statement. 

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are used as boosters in the UK, have the best overall immune response, according to data from the CovBoost trial, which was published on Friday, December 3. Existing vaccinations are, however, not known to be less efficient against the Omicron variant, and it remains doubtful that they are ineffective against serious disease.

(Image: AP)