How the UK is dealing with the second wave

How Britain entered and exited the blockade of the country and returned to the blockade of the country

March 23, Boris Johnson Put Britain in a thorough police blockade Countermeasures In the fight against the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The prime minister ordered people to only leave their homes under a list of “very limited purposes,” banned mass gatherings, and ordered the closure of non-essential stores.

Johnson announced the Phase 2 strategy on May 10 and outlined the gradual relaxation of restrictions rather than a complete lift of the blockade. However, Response to his speech It was fierce, with many accusing the Prime Minister of confusing the British people.

On May 11, Johnson announced a “roadmap” to lift the blockade and set out a three-step strategy to gradually lift the current restrictions.

Johnson later on May 28 5 tests to facilitate blockade I confirmed that I met A gathering of up to 6 people It may be held in an outdoor space from June 1st.

Johnson welcomed the beginning of the end of Britain’s “hibernation” on June 23, just three months after the country was blocked.

The prime minister even allowed family and friends to interact indoors and even go on holidays together from July 4th. this day is, Super SaturdayI saw it again Pub, Restaurants and hairdressers have reopened. This is because the rule of social distance of 2 meters has been shortened to 1 meter.

However, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitti warned that the coronavirus vaccine is still far away and that many new social distance measurements must continue to be performed “until this time next year.”

July 17, Mr. Johnson Roadmap to end the blockade, The rest of the leisure facilities have been reopened and all beauty treatments can be reopened from August 1st. Johnson also relaxed the official guidance to advise people: “Working from home if possible” To restart the economy.

The government is keen to avoid another total blockade. However, preventing a country blockade depends on how effectively the government can respond to a rapid rise in infection rates in multiple parts of the United Kingdom.

As of September 14, rallies of more than 6 people are banned in the UK. The government has introduced these rigorous new measures to counter the sharp rise in coronavirus infection rates.

September 22, Prime Minister Announced many new measures This includes a curfew at 10 pm in pubs and restaurants, a maximum of 15 people at weddings, and working from home for office workers. These may be valid until March, a year after the start of the blockade.

On October 12, Johnson announced a new three-tier system for local lockdown, as the proportion of new cases showed no signs of slowing down.

Faced with an increase in infection, Johnson announced a new national blockade across the United Kingdom on Saturday, October 31, after a surge in coronavirus cases. The new action came into effect on Thursday, November 5th and ended on Wednesday, December 2nd.

On November 11th, the Ministry of Education introduced the “Student Travel Window” between December 3rd and 9th. Meanwhile, the university planned to stagger students back for Christmas so as not to overload public transport.

How can we prevent another blockade in the future?

Pfizer / BioNTech Coronavirus Vaccine Approved Pave the way for the start of mass vaccination by regulators for use in the UK.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted an emergency license to the vaccine on December 2. 1 million jabs delivered to NHS On Thursday night.

The UK has 40 million doses of Pfizer vaccine as a whole, 90% effectiveness in preventing Covid-19 Those who have no evidence of previous infection. This scientific advance has the potential to prevent the blockade of the country in the future.

Following approval by UK regulators Mass deployment of Covid-19 vaccine It will start on December 9th in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

However, the NHS frontline staff Coronavirus vaccine is no longer a priority In the turmoil about the number of doses arriving by the end of the year.

NHS staff were supposed to be in the first line of the jab After vaccination is considered too difficult to inoculate a care facilityHowever, the care facility has returned to the list as the UK received less than expected the first batch of vaccines.

The government is discussing with the Derby City Council about using the Derby Arena as one of the first places to administer the Pfizer vaccine.

read more: How the UK gets Pfizer’s Covid vaccine from the factory to patients

On November 28, Boris Johnson appointed Nadhim Zahawi as Minister of Health responsible for the introduction of the coronavirus vaccine.

Meanwhile, Oxford University scientists said they expect vaccine results to come out by Christmas, confirming that regulators are conducting so-called “rolling reviews” to speed up the process. did.

Professor Sarah Gilbert, Principal Investigator of Oxford’s Vaccine Development Program, said the team had already contacted and provided information to evaluate several regulators before Oxford developed the final clinical dataset. He said he was doing it.

Moderna has also revealed vaccines that are up to 95% effective in trials. In combination with the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines, British authorities have ordered enough shots to vaccinate most of the population.

Since the majority of the population is vaccinated, blockades can be avoided in the future.

However, despite this promising breakthrough, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for caution, as the vaccine is still “very, very early”. Johnson then emphasized the need for a second national blockade restriction, stating:

“The biggest mistake we can make right now is to relax our determination at a critical moment.”

“This winter will be tough, so this won’t have a big impact on the number of infections,” Professor UğurŞahin told the BBC.

Professor Sahin admitted that he expected the patient’s antibody response to “decrease over time,” but denied the idea of ​​combining vaccines for people who had lost their immune response.

Professor Robin Chatok, head of the Imperial College Vaccine Program, also told Sky that “one vaccine is not enough” to tackle Covid-19.

“For some reason, we need as many vaccine candidates as possible,” he said.

“I don’t know if [the Pfizer vaccine] The more vaccine candidates, the better the toolbox, as it works in all different groups. “

Professor Shattock described distributing the vaccine to the most vulnerable groups as a “very complex operation” while convincing the public that the vaccine is safe.

“I think the biggest danger we have now with vaccination is that people may not take it seriously,” he added. “Until enough people have been vaccinated, we need to remind people that it’s not all over and that they really know it works.”

Danish coronavirus mutations associated with mink It can also affect the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Professor Wendy Berkeley-An imperial virologist on the government’s Sage Commission has expressed her concern.

“If there are mutations that affect how the antibody sees the virus, the vaccine we are currently producing will probably not work as well as we expected,” she said. Andrew Marr Show..

“But this can be a fairly one-off situation. It doesn’t mean that the vaccine doesn’t work at all. If this seems to be the case, a very adaptable and responsive vaccine platform is possible. It will be the best of the various platforms.

“We really need to understand if these mutations have a significant impact on the workings of these antibodies.”

New guidance issued by US health authorities It also provides insight into why the outbreak of Covid-19 is more severe in European countries such as the United Kingdom.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that cloth masks help protect the wearer from coronavirus infections, not just those around them. The guidelines go far beyond the previous declaration that masks should be worn with others in mind, and state that they prevent the wearer from inhaling water droplets that carry the virus.

Health agencies may be unable to quickly grasp the importance of mask protection in the United States and European countries, which may be the reason why the outbreak of Covid-19 was much worse than in Asian countries that quickly suppressed the virus. Suggested that there is sex.

What else is going on?

Free Vitamins for the Elderly and the Vulnerable: On November 28, health officials shared that more than 2.5 million vulnerable people across the UK would be given free vitamin D supplements to help them during the winter. People in nursing homes and those who are classified as clinically very vulnerable are provided with updated vitamins for bone and muscle health benefits.

Normally, the skin produces vitamin D after spending time in the sun. However, the most endangered people spent a considerable amount of time internally while shielding from Covid-19. Authorities suggest that everyone should take 10 micrograms of vitamin D during the winter, but there is no evidence that vitamin D prevents the capture or treatment of the virus.