People over the age of 50 are being urged to get their Covid booster shots before Christmas, with cases on the rise once again.
Health chiefs have doled out 14.4 million autumn boosters in England so far, but 38 per cent of eligible adults have yet to receive their fifth dose, official data shows.
England’s NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the “best thing” they can do to protect themselves against the virus and help the struggling health service is to get another injection.
The plea comes two years after Maggie Keenan became the first person in the world to receive an approved coronavirus vaccine.
People over the age of 50 are urged to get their Covid booster shots before Christmas with cases on the rise again. Health chiefs have doled out 14.4 million fall boosters as of November 30, but 38 percent of eligible adults have yet to receive their fifth dose, official data shows.
Booster shots have been slowing steadily since early October, when they peaked at around 508,000 a day in England. On November 28, the last available date, only 39,207 were administered
Uptake has been highest in people ages 80-84, 81% of whom received a complete stick as of November 30. By contrast, less than 39% of people aged 50-54 have accepted the offer of a needlestick to date.
Pictured: Margaret Keenan, 91, becomes the world’s first patient to receive a vaccine on December 8, 2020 at Coventry University Hospital.
Ms Pritchard said: ‘The unprecedented success of the life-saving NHS Covid-19 vaccination program… has been the single most important reason we have been able to return to a pre-pandemic way of life.
“The health service is currently facing tremendous pressure from all angles and while covid may seem like a thing of the past, we continue to deal with thousands of covid hospitalizations as well as a resurgence of flu and other respiratory viruses.
“Just like two years ago, the best thing you can do to avoid serious illness and hospitalization is to make sure you’re up to date on your covid and flu shots.”
The NHS is opening hundreds of vaccination sites across the country, including pop-ups at food banks, community health centers and places of worship.
Itinerant buses and taxis will also be installed to help make reinforcements as accessible as possible, authorities said.
The vaccines will be delivered at the Oxford United football stadium, a German market in Birmingham and a bus in London, moving from supermarkets to mosques.
NHS director of vaccinations and screenings Steve Russell said: “We would not be where we are today without the extraordinary efforts of the staff involved in the NHS vaccination program who planned, prepared and delivered the fastest and most rapid vaccination campaign. great in the history of the health service.
‘Two years into our staff are still working full steam ahead across the country to deliver hundreds of thousands of flu and covid vaccines every day to ensure we continue to protect people most at risk of serious illness, reduce hospitalizations and save lives.
“If you haven’t received your Covid booster or flu shot yet, book as soon as possible and take advantage of the opportunities on offer across the country this weekend to ensure you have maximum protection over Christmas.”
Uptake of the booster shot has slowed since early October, when they peaked at around 500,000 a day in England.
Acceptance has been highest in the 1980s.
By contrast, less than 39 percent of people ages 50 to 54 have accepted the offer of a jab to date.
The push comes amid fears the NHS will be overwhelmed by the triple threat of Covid, flu and RSV this winter, which will be exacerbated by staff strikes.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that covid infections spiked 7.9 percent in the week to November 21 after four weeks of falling. Their surveillance data, based on random samples of thousands of people, shows that 873,200 people carried the virus, up from 809,200 the week before.
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that covid infections shot up 7.9 percent in the week to November 21 after four weeks of falling.
Their surveillance data, based on random samples of thousands of people, shows that 873,200 people carried the virus, up from 809,200 the week before.
It means that one in 65 people (1.48 percent of the population) carried the virus during the week, according to the most recent data available.
Meanwhile, cases fell in Wales, where 39,600 (one in 75 people) were infected, and the trend was uncertain in Scotland (91,100) and Northern Ireland (28,900).
Ms Keenan, who has lived in Coventry for over 60 years but is originally from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, made global headlines after receiving the world’s first approved vaccine on December 8, 2020.
The grandmother of three has frequently urged people to take each new blow as it is dealt.
He received his first dose from May Parsons, a modern respiratory services midwife at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Trust.
Ms Parsons said: ‘Vaccinating Maggie with the first approved Covid-19 vaccine was a wonderful moment that I am very proud of, but that was just the beginning.
“That moment launched the largest and fastest vaccination program in our history. He avoided hospital admissions, normalized the country and saved lives.
“All the staff in the hospitals and our communities did everything they could during the pandemic to care for patients despite the health and care risks the virus posed to themselves.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the efforts of the NHS and the way they all did their best to implement the vaccine quickly and accurately.”
