England’s Chief Medical officer urged caution over Xmas urging people to prioritise who they meet over the festive season to protect their festivities.
The Prime Minister meanwhile urged the country to give Omicron the boot and slow down its spread and “wherever you are, we will be there with a jab for you.”
That was the Prime Minister’s message in the day that saw record new COVID infections in the U.K. and Omicron become the dominant variant in Manchester
Professor Chris Whitty said that we are fighting two epidemics at once and that he is afraid that many records will be broken in the next few weeks with hospitalisations expected to rise but that we have one major advantage in the vaccine programme
Johnson praised the public in coming foreword for their booster jabs, also paying respect to the NHS, the vaccine teams and the vaccine volunteers
On further restrictions the Prime Minister said that the Plan B strategy given the balance of risk along with the booster is the way to go whilst Professor Whitty said that most people are prioritising social gatherings that are important to them and deprioritising those that don’t matter in order to cut down on social contacts, later reaffirming this when the question of attending the Xmas Party came up saying it’s “exactly right” to take a lot of precautions – for example taking tests before meeting vulnerable people, which he would strongly encourage.
When the question of Downing Street parties arose Whitty gave a very sensible answer:
“When people think there is unfairness in high places of course they get angry…they separate that from their need to think about what is good for them, their families,their communities and their workplaces.”
Over-18s in England can now book a booster appointment from two months after their second dose it was announced
