Rise in Cases and Deaths Tests Britain’s Gamble on Few Virus Restrictions - The New York Times

“The makeup of the infected is a mix of young, unvaccinated people and older, vaccinated people.”.

Nearly 80 percent of people 12 and older in Britain have received two shots of a vaccine, but most older people got their shots six months ago or earlier.

The protection from two shots of AstraZeneca, the most widely used vaccine in Britain, drops from 88 percent after one month to 74 percent after four to five months, according to an analysis by the Zoe study.

Instead, the government is urging those eligible for booster shots, particularly the elderly and other vulnerable groups, to sign up for them, trying to jump-start a rollout that has had little of the speed or urgency of the vaccine deployment last winter.

Johnson said that “the numbers of infections are high but we are within the parameters of what the predictions were,” adding, “we are sticking with our plan.”.

That has prompted many public health experts to urge the government to reconsider its aversion to restrictions.

“We’re running way ahead of Europe,” said Devi Sridhar, head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh.

has authorized booster shots for millions of recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Pfizer and Moderna recipients who are eligible for a booster include people 65 and older, and younger adults at high risk of severe Covid-19 because of medical conditions or where they work.

Eligible Pfizer and Moderna recipients can get a booster at least six months after their second dose.

All Johnson & Johnson recipients will be eligible for a second shot at least two months after the first.

has updated its authorizations to allow medical providers to boost people with a different vaccine than the one they initially received, a strategy known as “mix and match.” Whether you received Moderna, Johnson & Johnson or Pfizer-BioNTech, you may receive a booster of any other vaccine.

says the Covid vaccine may be administered without regard to the timing of other vaccines, and many pharmacy sites are allowing people to schedule a flu shot at the same time as a booster dose.

It also plans a publicity campaign, using the slogan, “Get vaccinated, get boosted, get protected,” to urge people to get booster shots and to remind them of the continuing dangers of the virus.

“The government is doing what the government has done all along: dithered and delayed and not really confronted the issues,” said Gabriel Scally, a visiting professor of public health at the University of Bristol and a former regional director of public health

There had been little effort to equip office buildings with better ventilation or to urge the public to wear face coverings in crowded spaces and use higher quality masks