UK PM Boris Johnson sets new target, to offer booster shots to all 18+ adults by year end
London: United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday set a target of booster jab for adults over 18 years of age by the end of December as Omicron threat looms over the European state.
The Prime Minister warned of looming ‘tidal wave’ of Omicron
“No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming,” Boris Johnson said in a TV statement on Sunday evening. “And I`m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need.”
The increase in the five-stage Covid Alert Level from three to four comes after a further 1,239 confirmed cases of the variant were recorded on Sunday.
That brings the total number of UK cases of Omicron to 3,137 — a 65 percent increase from Saturday’s total of 1,898.
Johnson added that with Omicron known to be much more transmissible than other variants, the National Health Service would struggle to cope with hospitalisations if the variant were to tear through an un-boosted population.
Johnson has responded to the emergence of Omicron by introducing a “Plan B” in England, ordering people to work from home, wear masks in public places and use vaccine passes to slow the rate of infections.
