Study says Britain needs to vaccinate two million a week to prevent a third COVID-19 wave

(Reuters) – Britain needs to vaccinate two million people a week to avoid a third wave of coronavirus outbreaks, a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has concluded.

According to the Reuters report, the UK has had more than 71,000 deaths due to the coronavirus and more than 2.3 million cases of COVID-19 infections.

“The most severe intervention scenario with level 4 in England and schools closed during January and vaccinated 2 million individuals per week is the only scenario we have considered, which reduces the peak ICU burden below the levels observed during the first wave was seen “, the study said.

“In the absence of a significant vaccination of the vaccine, cases, hospitalizations, admissions and deaths on the ICU in 2021 may be more than in 2020.”

An accelerated intake of two million a week vaccinated “is predicted to have a much greater impact”, bit.ly/3o9l2MJ added. The study has yet to be peer-reviewed.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his scientific advisers have said that a variant of the coronavirus, which can be up to 70% more transmitted, is spreading rapidly in Britain, although it is not more deadly or serious.

It has introduced strict measures of social mixing restrictions for London and south-east England, while plans to lighten curbs across the country have been dramatically scaled back or scrapped altogether.

In media reports over the weekend, the UK said it would roll out the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from January 4, with the approval of the country’s medical regulator within days.

Earlier this month, the UK became the first country in the world to roll out the vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The British government said on Thursday that 600,000 people in the UK had received the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine since vaccination began.