LONDON (AP) – The UK opened seven mass vaccination centers on Monday as it entered the most dangerous moment of the COVID-19 pandemic, with exhausted medical staff suffering from pressure from crowded hospitals and increasing hospitalizations.
England’s chief physician, Dr. Chris Whitty, has warned people to strictly follow measures to prevent the virus from spreading while awaiting their turn for a vaccine. The government is trying to vaccinate an estimated 15 million people by February 15 – but Britain’s National Health Service is struggling to treat those who are sick now.
“I think everyone accepts that this is the most dangerous moment that we really had in terms of numbers on the NHS,” Whitty told the BBC.
People in the UK already face severe restrictions on coronavirus, but political leaders are considering tightening the rules even further, as a new, more communicable variant of COVID-19 exacerbates the health crisis. The leaders want to vaccinate the country in crisis, but with hospitals under siege, they must persuade the public to take prevention methods more seriously.
“We do not rule out the possibility of taking other measures, if necessary, but it is your actions now that can make the difference: stay at home!” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said during a news conference on Monday.
Britain, with more than 81,000 dead, has the most deadly virus in Europe and the number of hospital beds occupied by patients with COVID-19 has been steadily increasing for more than a month. British hospitals are treating 55% more cases of COVID-19 than during the first pandemic peak in April.
“Everyone knows what they need to do. And I think that’s the main thing – minimizing the number of contacts, ”said Whitty.
England entered a third national block last week that closed all non-essential stores, schools, colleges and universities for at least six weeks. The blockade is a little more flexible than the spring one, with many more workplaces and businesses open, but police across the country have issued fines for breaking the rules that require people to stay home, except for essential reasons, such as exercise or market shopping.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservative government hopes the restrictions will reduce pressure on the NHS while increasing a national mass vaccination program using vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and a second from Oxford-AstraZeneca. A third vaccine approved for use by Moderna will not arrive until spring.
Seven large-scale vaccination centers are opening, joining nearly 1,000 other locations across the country, including hospitals, general practice clinics and drugstores.
At a vaccination center in Stevenage, north London, medical professionals giving injections described the climate as marked by relief and joy.
“They have been very excited, in fact, very pleased that there is some hope at the end of this tunnel, this tunnel is too long for everyone,” said Caroline Shepherd, clinical immunization specialist at the Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust. “Some people (were) very tearful, saying ‘I’m very happy to be here, thank you very much, we are very grateful for the NHS.’”
Almost 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 mid-February, targeting people over 70, frontline health professionals, nursing home residents and workers and other especially vulnerable people. This will protect people who account for almost 90% of coronavirus-related deaths and could allow restrictions to be eased, the government says.
“(But) we can’t be complacent,” said Johnson during a visit to a vaccination center in Bristol. “The worst thing now would be to allow the success of launching a vaccine program to generate any kind of complacency about the state of the pandemic.”
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Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
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