The UK government has urged Britons above the age of 40 to receive COVID-19 booster jabs before Christmas as winter coronavirus cases in Europe are currently on the rise.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid stressed that "getting your […] booster vaccine is the best way to keep yourself and your loved ones safe this winter and will help reduce the pressure on the NHS [National Health Service]".
He added that "while the government is continuing to monitor a wide range of data to ensure the country remains protected", Downing Street has "very sadly seen a surge in cases in parts of Europe".
Nurse Naomi Walsh (R) administers the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to Roger Shaw, 87, at the Royal Free hospital in London on December 8, 2020 at the start of the UK's biggest ever vaccination programme
© AFP 2023 / JACK HILL
"The most important thing we can do to stop a similar rise in this country is get the jab. So please get your vaccines as soon as you can so we can keep the virus at bay", Javid stressed.
He was echoed by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Vaccines and Public Health Maggie Throup, who underscored that "we [the government] must protect the gains we have made through our vaccination programme this winter, and I urge everybody to help make this happen".
"Please get your boosters when eligible, and get your first and second doses if you haven't already, to secure vital protection during the winter to keep you and your loved ones safe", Throup added.
In an explainer on its website, the government noted that "this booster dose will help extend the protection you gained from your first 2 doses and give you longer term protection". A total of 14 million people in Britain have thus far received their booster vaccines, according to the latest estimates.
The government's remarks come after regional World Health Organisation (WHO) director Hans Kluge told the BBC that 500,000 more COVID-related deaths could be recorded by March unless urgent action is taken now as Europe fights a fresh wave of infections.
"COVID-19 has become once again the number one cause of mortality in our region", he pointed out, adding that the WHO knows "what needs to be done" in order to tackle the coronavirus.
According to him, mandatory vaccination steps should be seen as a "last resort", although it would be "very timely" to have a "legal and societal debate" on the matter.
"Before that, there are other means like the COVID pass", Kluge said, highlighting that it is "not a restriction of liberty, rather it is a tool to keep our individual freedom".
He spoke after Austria imposed a new national lockdown, becoming the first European country to announce that coronavirus vaccination would be a legal requirement, something that prompted large-scale protests in the capital Vienna.
A number of COVID-19 restrictions were introduced by the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while German Health Minister Jens Spahn dubbed the situation a "national emergency" and declined to exclude another national lockdown.
As far as the UK is concerned, the country recorded 40,941 confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, marking the third consecutive day that the number of positive tests has hit the 40,000 threshold, bringing the seven-day total to 283,718.