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LONDON TAR19 VIRUS-UK-VACCINE-WARNING
Vaccinated people may still transmit COVID-19, warns England’s chief medic
LONDON, Jan 24, 2021 (BSS/PTI) – One of England’s leading medical officers
on Sunday urged the public to continue to follow the strict lockdown rules
because any vaccine-related immunity from COVID-19 takes at least three weeks
to kick in.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, also
warned that there is no clear evidence yet to show that vaccinated people
cannot transmit the deadly virus on to others.
“Regardless of whether someone has had their vaccination or not, it is
vital that everyone follows the national restrictions and public health
advice, as protection takes up to three weeks to kick in and we don’t yet
know the impact of vaccines on transmission,” said Van-Tam.
His warning comes as the UK registered another high daily death toll from
the virus of 1,348 this weekend, taking the country’s total to 97,329.
However, he pointed to an additional 32 vaccination sites coming on stream
to add to the thousands of venues where the National Health Service (NHS) has
been delivering 140 jabs a minute, taking the vaccinated total to over 5.8
million.
“The vaccine is rightly something to celebrate – let’s stay patient, stay
at home and support the NHS as it continues to roll out the vaccine,” he
said.
A Living Museum where the BBC filmed a hit drama series ‘Peaky Blinders’
based on the notorious Birmingham gang in the 1920s is among the new vaccine
sites.
A former IKEA store at the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, London,
the Francis Crick Institute, which is also in the UK capital, the Nightingale
Hospital in Sunderland and the Blackpool Winter Gardens will also be new
vaccination centres.
The latest openings mean there will be a network of almost 50 across the
country, adding to options alongside hospitals, pharmacies and general
practice (GP) surgeries.
“Through the vaccines delivery plan, we have made outstanding progress in
vaccinating our NHS and care staff and the most vulnerable people in
society,” said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
“We must not drop our guard. While the vaccine can prevent severe disease,
we do not know if it stops you from passing on the virus to others, and it
takes time to develop immunity after a jab, so for now everyone must continue
to stay at home to help bring down infections and protect the NHS,” he said.
The NHS said the new vaccine centres will each be capable of delivering
thousands of jabs each week, scaling up and down according to vaccine
supplies and demand.
People eligible in the priority criteria of over-80s, followed by over-
70s, care home workers and staff as well as frontline workers, are being
invited when it is their turn and people are being urged not to just turn up
“These new centres provide another option for people invited for their
jabs, alongside the fantastic work of local GPs,” said Professor Stephen
Powis, NHS national medical director.
Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi added: “As of next week there will be
almost 50 vaccination centres, more than 250 hospitals hubs and over 1,000
local vaccination service sites, run by GPs and pharmacies right across the
country.
“This will enable us to vaccinate as many people as possible in the weeks
and months to come and I encourage anyone who has been invited for a free
vaccine to come forward and get a jab.”
The NHS said its new Vaccination Centres will kick off by jabbing mainly
health and social care staff from Monday before opening their doors to more
patients on Tuesday.
BSS/PTI/ARS/1725 hrs