Van-Tam’s 3 Xmas wishes: Boosters, flu jabs and caution
COVId booster shots, flu jabs and ‘caution’ are key to coping with Covid during the ‘problematic’ Christmas period, Jonathan VanTam has said.
The deputy chief medical officer suggested further lockdowns could be avoided and the pandemic brought under control by spring if people act responsibly.
He urged Britons to have their flu and Covid vaccines when offered and said the booster programme is ‘picking up really quite considerable momentum’.
Professor Van-Tam hopes the NHS will soon allow individuals to book their shot a few weeks ahead of its due date, six months after the second dose.
But he admitted it is too soon to know whether further boosters will be required – perhaps every six months.
The government adviser said the UK is at ‘half-time in extra time’ in tackling Covid but the final whistle may come early next year.
Asked on BBC Breakfast how a Christmas lockdown could be prevented, he said: ‘Christmas, and indeed all of the darker winter months, are potentially going to be problematic.
‘The things that are really going to determine this are, first of all, human behaviours and caution over the winter months, but particularly in the next couple of months if you’re talking about Christmas. The next one is how well the vaccination programmes go.’
He added: ‘I can’t predict it – but my personal view is that we’ve got a few more months to run, and I think we’ll be in a much calmer set of waters by spring.
‘But I think, until then – caution, be very careful, this is not quite over and vaccines, boosters, are really important.’ Professor VanTam said too many people believe the pandemic is over, adding: ‘I personally feel there are some hard months to come in the winter.’
He said cases were starting to fall, but ‘that mainly reflects the fact that this big wave we’ve had in teenagers is now starting to slip away’. However he warned: ‘My worry is that the deaths are increasing and that shows that the infection is now starting to penetrate into those older age groups.
‘And that’s why the really key thing is that if you are called for your booster, if you are called for your flu vaccine, please go and get them.’
His comments come as figures from the government-commissioned React study show one in 58 Britons have coronavirus. This is the highest level recorded by the study, which began in May 2020. The survey, led by Imperial College
London and Ipsos Mori, found prevalence had almost doubled from 0.93 per cent from September to October, at 1.72 per cent.
The Government yesterday said a further 217 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19. There were a further 41,299 lab-confirmed cases.