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Prime Minister warns it would be an ‘utter tragedy’ if those eligible did not get the booster vaccination

News | 15th November 2021

By Rebecca Redican

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  • Booster jabs are now being offered to 40 year olds
  • Chief medical officer says the NHS is under strain and ‘likely to remain so over the winter period’
  • Covid related deaths down 18.2% in Manchester

Boris Johnson has held a government press conference at Downing Street to inform and update the nation on the COVID19 pandemic.

The conference was held just hours after it was announced that Covid booster jabs are now being offered to healthy 40 to 49-year-olds.

This comes after a study by the UK Health Security Agency found that booster vaccinations gave over 90% protection in people over 50.

Speaking of the booster jabs Mr Johnson said: “It would be an utter tragedy if, after everything we have been through, people who had done the right thing by getting double vaccinated ended up becoming seriously ill or even losing their lives because they allowed their immunity to wane,”

Also speaking at the conference was chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty who warned “we have a difficult winter ahead of us” with flu season on the way.

Mr Whitty spoke of the strain on the NHS and encouraged those eligible to get their booster vaccination to help alleviate this stress.

“The NHS is a remarkably resilient organisation, never the less everybody would accept that large parts of it, particularly at the moment the ambulance system, A&E and others are under very significant pressure and I’m afraid likely to remain so over the winter period.

“Which is why all health staff would reiterate the point the PM made about encouraging people to get vaccination that’s the single simplest thing people can do to help reduce pressure over the rest of winter.”

The conference also revealed that 12.6m people have received there booster or third vaccination.

As of 14 November 321,293 people in Manchester have received their second coronavirus vaccination. This increase in uptake is believed to have reduced deaths with none, within 28 days of a positive COVID test.

Manchester has also seen a decrease in deaths, under the same circumstances, in the past week compared to the previous seven days. Between 9th-15th November 9 deaths within the 28 days of a positive test were recorded which is down 18.2% on the week before.

However, last week 1,608 people in Manchester had a positive coronavirus test result which is an increase of 5.3% compared to 2nd-8th November.

This increase seems to be in line with the rise in the amount of people testing positive for COVID-19 in the UK since the end of lockdown.

If you have had both vaccinations over six months ago and are aged over 40 or have health issues that put you at risk, you are now advised to book your booster.

You can book a booster jab on the NHS website, for an appointment date and time at a vaccination centre or pharmacy. You could also, where available, go to walk-in vaccination sites near you.