The UK plans to start offering from September a third dose of the vaccine against covid-19 to strengthen immunity if by then have spread new variants of the coronavirus, according announced Secretary of State Vaccination, Nadhim Zahawi.
In an interview in ‘The Telegraph’, the senior British Government official has pointed out that those over 70 years of age and front-line health personnel will have priority for that additional injection.
Zahawi is in charge of overseeing a vaccination program that has already administered at least a first dose to more than 29 million people . In the United Kingdom, preparations from AstraZeneca and Pfizer have been used so far , but the Secretary of State says that he hopes to have up to eight approved products for the autumn .
The British government has already been in contact with those two pharmaceutical companies, as well as Moderna , whose vaccine is expected to be available next month, about the distribution of a third booster dose. “In whatever way the virus behaves, we are going to be prepared, ” Zahawi assured.
De-escalated
England will begin this Monday a slow de-escalation of the restrictions that the Government decreed at the beginning of January to stop a wave of infections that at its maximum peak caused more than 1,800 daily deaths .
In the last seven days, the average number of deaths from coronavirus has been 70 and the number of patients admitted has fallen to less than 5,000, far from the almost 40,000 that were reached in January.
Starting next week, social gatherings will be allowed outside for up to six people, belonging to two homes, and the outdoor sports facilities will reopen . However, non-essential shops will remain closed , which will reopen on April 12 (bars and restaurants will be able to serve on terraces from that date) and national or international trips for leisure reasons are not allowed .
The Government has advanced that it will allow stores to open until ten at night when they can resume their activity, three hours more than the closing time before the pandemic.
