Together with the NHS and the UK’s Chief Medical Advisers, the Prime Minister has launched an urgent national appeal calling for people to get their booster jabs. The latest scientific data suggests that the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 is extremely transmissible and cases in the UK are doubling every couple of days. The Government is right to target vaccinations as our best defence because we know how effective they are. 12 months ago, 1 in 10 people who caught Covid ended up in hospital but now only 1 person in 16,500 does. While many factors have contributed to this colossal improvement, the biggest factor has been vaccinations.
But we also know that the protection we get from vaccines falls over time and a third dose is needed to boost protection back up to about 75%. Once tripled jabbed, roughly 3 in 4 people who catch Covid will have no symptoms at all and the remaining 1 person in 4 who does have symptoms is less likely to be seriously ill. The objective is to offer all adults a booster jab by the New Year, with bookings made through the National Booking System at www.england.nhs.uk. If you have not booked your booster yet, I strongly urge you to do so.
I would also appeal to anyone who has so far declined the offer of a vaccine at all, to get their first jab. Whatever your reason for not getting one – whether you read something online that scared you or you have already caught Covid and think you can’t catch it again (not correct) – please listen to our best doctors and scientists and get a jab that will help to protect you, your loved ones and those who you come into contact with. If you visited a Covid-19 hospital ward you would hear patient after patient expressing regret that they didn’t get vaccinated.
To deliver the ramped-up vaccination programme, which will require about a million vaccines to be administered every day (a mammoth task), NHS staff will be redeployed away from non-urgent services for the next six weeks. All primary care services will focus on booster jabs and urgent clinical needs, so some Central Devon residents may find that a non-urgent appointment or elective surgery they have booked is postponed.
This urgent action from the Government is necessary because the next few weeks will be crucial in our fight against the Omicron variant. Nobody wants stricter restrictions to be reintroduced that will be damaging for local businesses or affect our children’s education. Nobody wants our personal freedoms to be curtailed more than is absolutely necessary or to see local NHS services overwhelmed. Booster jabs are the best way to avoid all of this from happening so if you haven’t booked yours yet please do it now (www.england.nhs.uk). Anyone without internet access can contact their local GP surgery for assistance.