UK urges booster jabs, resists new virus restrictions

Under pressure LONDON — from rising infections and alarmed health experts, the British government on Wednesday urged millions of people to get booster vaccine shots but resisted calls to reimpose coronavirus restrictions such as mandatory mask-wearing.

Britain is relying heavily on vaccines to keep the virus at bay during the fall and win- ter months. Almost 80% of people 12 and over in the U.K. have received two vaccine doses and millions are being offered a booster shot, including everyone over 50.

But critics say the booster campaign is moving more slowly than the virus. The U.K. recorded almost 50,000 new infections in a single day this week, and cases are averag- ing more than 44,000 a day, up 16% from a week earlier.

Matthew Taylor, chief exec- utive of the health care group the NHS Confederation, said Britain’s health system risked being overwhelmed unless more measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 are intro- duced now.

“It is time for the government to enact Plan B of its strategy without delay because without preemp- tive action, we risk stumbling into a winter crisis,” he said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government lifted domestic coronavirus restrictions in July, including mandatory face coverings and social distancing. Nightclubs and other crowded venues were allowed to open at full capacity, and people were no longer advised to work from home.

Some scientists feared a big spike in coronavirus cases after the reopening. That didn’t occur, but infections remained stubbornly high and recently have begun to increase — especially among children, who largely remain unvaccinated.

Last week, the Office for National Statistics estimated that one in 60 peo- ple in England had the virus, one of the highest levels yet seen in Britain.

Hospitalizations and deaths are gradually rising, with deaths averaging 130 a day over the past week. Brit- ain has recorded more than 138,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest total in Europe after Russia.

Against that backdrop, some feel Britons have been too quick to return to pre-pandemic behavior. Masks and social distancing have all but vanished in most settings in England, includ- ing schools, although Scotland and other parts of the U.K. remain a bit more strict. Even in shops, where masks are recommended, and on the London transit network, where they are mandatory, adherence is patchy.

A plan to require proof of vaccination to attend nightclubs, concerts and other mass events in England was dropped by the government amid opposition from lawmakers, though Scotland introduced a vaccine pass program this month.

Critics say the vaccina- tion program — among the world’s speediest earlier this year — is moving too slowly, with about 180,000 booster doses being given a day. More than half of the people eligi- ble for a booster dose haven’t yet received one.

The U.K. also waited lon- ger than the U.S. and many European nations to vaccinate children from 12-15, and only about 15% in that age group in England have had a shot since they became eligible last month.