NHS mounts fresh Covid vaccine booster drive as cases reach record highs
The NHS is mounting a fresh drive urging people to get their Covid booster vaccine as cases of the virus soared to record highs once more amid the spread of the Omicron variant.
Separate figures for Scotland showed another 9,360 cases. No data was available for Northern Ireland.The government at Westminster has said while the early evidence suggests Omicron is less likely to cause serious illness than earlier waves, it stands ready to impose new measures in England if necessary.
Meanwhile research from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre found three in five Covid patients in intensive care in London at the start of last month had not been vaccinated.NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said the figures underlined the importance of people getting fully vaccinated to protect themselves and to protect the health serves.
According to the latest Government figures 51 million people in the UK have had a first dose of the vaccine and more than 32 million have received a third shot.Meanwhile NHS leaders have warned that currently the greatest pressure on the service is coming from Covid-related staff absences which are leaving clinical teams severely depleted rather than from Covid hospitalisations.
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