LONDON – The UK opened seven mass vaccination centers on Monday as it ushered in the most dangerous moment of the COVID-19 pandemic, with exhausted medical staff packing under hospital pressure and increasing admissions.
England medical chief Dr Chris Whitty has warned people to take strict measures to prevent the spread of the virus while waiting their turn for a vaccine shot. The government is trying to vaccinate about 15 million people by February 15, but the British health service is struggling to treat those who are now ill.
“I think everyone accepts that this is the most dangerous time we have had in terms of numbers in the NHS,” Whitty told the BBC.
People in the UK are already facing severe coronavirus restrictions, but political leaders are considering tightening the rules further as a new, more transmissible variant of COVID-19 exacerbates the health crisis. Leaders want to vaccinate the country from the crisis, but with hospitals under siege, they must persuade the public to take the prevention methods more seriously.
“We can not take further action if necessary, but it is now your actions that can make a difference: stay at home!” Health Minister Matt Hancock said at a news conference Monday.
Britain, with more than 81,000 deaths, has the deadliest viral virus in Europe and the number of hospital beds filled by COVID-19 patients has been rising steadily for more than a month. English hospitals now treat 55% more COVID-19 cases than during the first peak of the pandemic in April.
“Everyone knows what to do. And I think that’s the most important thing – reduce the number of contacts, “said Whitty.
England entered a third national exclusion last week that closed all non-essential shops, schools, colleges and universities for at least six weeks. The exclusion is slightly looser than in the spring with many more workplaces and businesses open, but police have issued nationwide fines for violating rules that require people to stay home, except for essential reasons such as exercise or shopping.
The Conservative government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes the restrictions will reduce tensions on the NHS, while increasing a nationwide mass vaccination program using vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and a second from Oxford-AstraZeneca. A third vaccine approved for use by Moderna will only be available in the spring.
Seven large-scale vaccination centers open and connect to about 1,000 other sites across the country, including hospitals, general practitioners and pharmacies.
At one vaccination center in Stevenage, north of London, medical workers who fired shots described the mood as marked by relief and joy.
“They were quite emotional, very happy that there is hope at the end of this tunnel, this very long tunnel for everyone,” said Caroline Shepherd, clinical expert on vaccinations at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust. ” Some people were quite tearful and said, ‘I’m very happy here, thank you very much, we are very grateful to the NHS. ”
Nearly 2.3 million people in the UK have received a COVID-19 vaccine so far. The government’s goal is to vaccinate the most vulnerable by February, targeting people over the age of 70, front – line health workers, residents of nursing homes and staff and others who are particularly vulnerable. This will protect the people who make up almost 90% of coronavirus-related deaths and could alleviate restrictions, the government says.
“(But) we can not be complacent,” Johnson said during a visit to a vaccination center in Bristol. “The worst thing now is to allow the success of launching a vaccination program to bring about any complacency about the state of the pandemic.”
___
Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemie
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus- vaccination
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak