However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the vaccine alone will not be enough to lift the world out of the pandemic…reports Asian Lite News.
Another 39,962 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 8,773,674, according to official figures released on Sunday.
The country also reported a further 72 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 139,533. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported.
There are currently 8,238 patients in hospital with Covid-19.
The latest data came as a “record number” of coronavirus booster jabs were administered on Saturday, with more than 800,000 shots given in the past 72 hours, according to the National Health Service (NHS).
Saturday was the biggest booster day on record, with more than 325,100 vaccines given. Currently, around 10 million people in England are eligible for the booster jab, including health and care workers, those with underlying health conditions, and people aged 50 and over.
However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the vaccine alone will not be enough to lift the world out of the pandemic.
Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for WHO, said “we really have to do other measures” to recover from Covid-19.
More than 86 per cent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 79 per cent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.
Last week, Health Minister Sajid Javid had said that cases “could go as high as 100,000 a day,” but insisted it was not yet time to revert to a lockdown or implement measures such as mask-wearing and working from home. The government is hoping a combination of more vaccine doses and successful treatments will limit the impact of the virus this winter, and wants to avoid bringing in restrictions, having already shut the economy down three times.
Javid gave a warning that the 5 million people aged 16 and over who have yet to receive a vaccine dose needed to get one, and those already vaccinated needed to take up booster shots when offered. Otherwise a “Plan B,” involving steps such as mask mandates, a work from home order and vaccination passes to get into venues, would be implemented.
“Am I saying that if we don’t do our bit, get vaccinated, all those behavioral changes that we can make, that we are more likely to face restrictions as we head into winter, then I am saying that,” Javid told a news conference. “If not enough people get their booster jabs, if not enough of those people that were eligible for the original offer… don’t come forward, it’s going to hit us all.”
Britain has the eighth biggest death toll globally from the coronavirus, with almost 140,000 fatalities. It did have a successful vaccination rollout as the U.K. became one of the first countries to start administering doses, prompting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lift almost all restrictions in England as 2021 progressed.
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