Amid the rising Omicron fears across the globe, one nation has declared an “emergency” and has made COVID-19 booster shots mandatory.
The Omicron variant has spread to over 60 countries globally till now, as per a WHO report, and has sparked a wave of concern among all the national authorities. Due to this, many nations have decided to make booster shots mandatory for their population.
Amid the rising number of Omicron cases, the United Kingdom has decided to declare an “emergency” and has declared the start of administering COVID-19 vaccine booster doses to everyone above the age of 18 from this week, according to media reports.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an official statement on television on Sunday, and said, “I’m afraid we’re now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant Omicron.” He further added, “No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.”
While announcing the need for the booster dose, the prime minister added, “It is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need. But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose, a booster dose, we can all bring our level of protection back up.”
PM Johnson said that the experts already know that the Omicron variant is more transmissible than the Delta variant and that a wave of Omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalisation that could overwhelm the National Health Service and increase deaths in the country.
The COVID-19 alert in the UK has been raised to level four, which is the second-highest level, due to the sudden increase in infections and hospitalizations. Health officers have said that the hospitalizations in the country are likely to increase, according to BBC.
Recently, WHO announced that the Omicron variant spreads faster than the Delta variant, and can lower vaccine efficacies in people. This has urged nations to discuss their policies on the administration of booster doses to prevent a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic from hitting.
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 "This nation declares ‘Omicron emergency’, makes COVID-19 booster shot mandatory")
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