(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the U.K. is facing a “tidal wave” of omicron infections and set an end-of-year deadline for the country’s booster vaccination program.
“Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the New Year,” Johnson told the nation in a hastily arranged address on Sunday night.
Johnson, who has been the subject of scathing headlines over his handling of the pandemic, tried to change the narrative in a somber address. While he is accelerating a plan to deliver booster jabs, in practice he’s bringing the deadline forward by a month.
His short speech came hours after the U.K. raised its Covid alert level to four from three in light of the surge in cases. The number of new omicron cases almost doubled on Sunday from a day earlier amid warning signs the National Health Service is buckling under the strain.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News on Monday that of about 3,000 omicron cases in England, about 10 people had been hospitalized and no deaths had been reported. “We are once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus,” Javid said, adding that vaccination centers will open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
The U.K. has ramped up restrictions in recent days. Masks have been made mandatory in more public settings, and Britons have been told to work from home if possible. In practice, adherence remains lax and Johnson is desperate to let families celebrate Christmas together, unlike last year.
“There is a tidal wave of omicron coming, and I’m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need,” Johnson said Sunday.
Parliament is expected to vote this week on the latest restrictions and Johnson could face a rebellion by dozens of ruling Conservative Party lawmakers opposed to the more stringent measures.
Opposition Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey complained the government should treat the public “more like adults.”
“We still haven’t had the advice from the experts, from the SAGE committee, made public,” Davey told BBC TV on Monday. “I think if they did that, a lot of people would look at that and they’d be more confident in what the government is saying.”
Omicron arrived in the country at a time when the delta variant was already fueling a surge in cases, despite the U.K. having one of the most successful vaccination programs in the world.
(Updates with comment by Health Secretary Javid from fifth paragraph)
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