London | Up to 90% of COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care in the UK have not received a vaccine booster dose, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday, once again ruling out any tightening of restrictions before the new Year.
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“I’m sorry to say this, but the overwhelming majority of people admitted to intensive care in our hospitals are those who haven’t had a booster dose,” the Tory leader said on the sidelines of a visit to a hospital. vaccination center.
“I have spoken to doctors who say that up to 90% of people in intensive care have not had a booster dose,” he added, renewing his call for the population to receive an additional dose. vaccine.
“If you’re not vaccinated, you’re on average eight times more likely to end up in hospital,” Johnson said.
Faced with a rapid spread of the Omicron variant, with a record of nearly 130,000 cases recorded on Tuesday in England and Wales, the United Kingdom has launched a massive vaccine booster campaign which has already allowed an additional dose to be administered to almost 57% of the population over the age of 12.
The goal is to offer one to the entire adult population before the end of the year.
Building on the progress of vaccination, and despite rising hospitalizations, Boris Johnson has news ruled out Wednesday to tighten restrictions in place in England to curb the spread of the virus, unlike Scotland, Wales and to Northern Ireland, which closed nightclubs in particular.
“The Omicron variant continues to pose real problems, we see the increase in cases in hospitals, but it is clearly less virulent than the Delta variant and we can continue to proceed as we are doing”, explained the leader. However, he called on the population to celebrate the New Year “with caution”.
As of December 22, 8,240 people with Covid were hospitalized in the country, including 842 on a ventilator.
However, health authorities fear that despite a lower risk, the number of cases is so high that it puts insurmountable pressure on the hospital system, especially as a growing number of infected caregivers are being forced into isolation.
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