The Johnson Government strengthens the vaccination program and acquires oral antivirals to face the winter challenge
The Boris Johnson Government is confident of the extension of the vaccination program and the supply of antiviral pills to face the new escalation of coronavirus infections. “It can reach up to 100,000 cases a day,” admitted Health Minister Sajid Javid, after noting at a televised press conference that they always knew “that the winter months are the most risky for our road to recovery.”
Javid thus responded to the many voices in the medical sector calling for the reintroduction in England of preventive measures to stop this latest wave of the pandemic. This Friday another 49,139 people tested positive in the United Kingdom, with a weekly increase of over 16% and a world rate that only the United States surpassed, according to Johns Hopkins University. About 8,000 patients were still admitted in a day in which 223 confirmed deaths were registered. «The pandemic is not over. The link between infections, hospitalization and death has weakened, but has not been broken. The virus continues to be a threat ”, the minister obviated.
Despite the rising curve, the conservative Executive is reluctant to put the legal brake on. Javid defended that there is no urgency or need to activate the alternative strategy or ‘plan B’ for the winter. It only concerns England and includes legal restrictions that were lifted in July – such as wearing a mask in public transport or the obligation to present a covid passport in discos and other crowded leisure spaces -, which are already required in Scotland and Wales. Also, it would be recommended again to work at home whenever possible in order to reduce physical contact. But, as Javid pointed out, “None of us want to back down now.”
“We will be vigilant”
“We will not implement ‘plan B’ of contingency measures at this time. We will be vigilant, prepared for any eventuality, while strengthening our vital defenses that can help us fight the virus, “he said. The minister ignored clinical managers and representatives of the National Health Service (NHS), who are calling for action to prevent the overflow of hospitals and emergency centers in the winter.
“We see disturbing increases in coronavirus cases as the NHS is preparing for intense winter activity, with exhausted staff … It is time for the Government to implement its ‘plan B’ without further delay,” urged Matthew Taylor, director of the NHS Confederation. This national body believes it is essential to define a ‘plan B plus’ against the coronavirus in the face of the inevitable crisis that it anticipates when temperatures drop.
Instead, the Government is committed to science and the collaboration of the population. Yesterday announced the acquisition of 730,000 doses of oral antivirals from the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Merck. Both products –PF-07321332 / Ritonavir, from the US group, and Molnupiravir, from the German MSD– are in advanced stages of trials, with positive results in prevention and reduction of the risk of hospitalization or death from coronavirus. The British license could be approved before the end of the year, according to Javid before proclaiming that the United Kingdom “will be the first country in the world” with supplies of the first antivirals specifically made to treat the pandemic of the 21st century.
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