Millions more will be given boosters to provide maximum protection against the Omicron variant as ministers insist Britain will have a ‘great Christmas’.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said that people should continue with their Christmas plans as normal and that the government was “nowhere near” imposing further restrictions. He argued that a turbocharger program would cope with the new variant.
All adults will be eligible for the third dose much earlier than planned as immunization chiefs prepare to cut the gap between doses, with new guidance expected within days. Javid promised a new policy was “imminent” and said he had told the NHS to be ready to deliver more vaccines each day.
The law requiring face masks in shops and public transport, along with new quarantine regulations for all travelers entering the UK, will come into force at 4am tomorrow. Ministers say this is a “proportionate” response to the emergence of a variant that scientists say could be the most dangerous.
Conservative supporters are pressing for an early vote on the rules after Javid suggested that parliament may not have a chance to pass the changes until they are considered in three weeks. Ministers have said that introducing measures such as work from home and passport vaccines, which are strongly opposed by many Tory MPs, do not require a vote.
Javid said the social distancing rules “come with a really heavy cost on the economy, in terms of their social life and mental health”. While not ruling them out permanently, he said “we’re not there yet, we’re nowhere near”.
Javid says travel restrictions will “buy time” for more vaccinations. He added that an announcement could be made today as the government looks to make the most of the “opportunity” before Omicron spreads.
To date, 17.6 million people have received booster injections. Yesterday 450,480 doses were taken, and the program is getting an average of 2.5 million doses a week.
People over 40 are eligible for a booster shot, but the program has been slowed by a requirement to wait six months between the second and third doses, which vaccine advisers believe provides longer-term protection.
Following the arrival of Omicron, Javid asked the Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization to report this week on whether this gap can be closed. Professor Anthony Harnden, the committee’s vice-chairman, signaled yesterday that it would back the plan.
“There is a very strong argument for raising antibody levels throughout the community, and therefore accelerating the program of reinforcement both by extending the age range and by reducing the interval between the second and Boosting dose would be a sensible strategy,” he told the BBC.
Harnden says that Omicron is a “variant of concern” and vaccination remains the primary means of protection despite concerns that the shots will be less effective than previous strains. “It’s likely that some level will come out of the vaccine, and so the higher the level of antibodies you have in your blood against this particular variant, the better,” he said.
Javid says the plan to “push the booster program” is the most effective way to deal with Omicron. “Vaccines will still give you more protection than others and that’s why the booster program is so important,” he told Sky News.
He will chair today’s meeting of G7 health ministers to coordinate global efforts to combat this variant.
Professor Peter Openshaw of Imperial College London advocates cutting the dose interval. “Eight to 12 weeks may be ideal for the next dose. It may not be necessary to wait five or six months to get that enhanced effect,” he says.
