Members of the Vaccination Team work at an NHS Scotland vaccination centre set up at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) in Edinburgh on Feb. 1, 2021.JANE BARLOW/AFP/Getty Images
While Canada and other countries struggle to roll out their COVID-19 vaccination programs, Britain’s effort is picking up speed and health officials announced on Monday that almost 90 per cent of all Britons over 80 have been vaccinated as well as half of those in their 70s.
In total, 9.2 million people have been inoculated so far across Britain, including more than 931,000 people last weekend alone, according to government figures. At the current pace, the National Health Service is on track to reach its target of vaccinating 15 million people by mid-February, which would include all care home residents, hospital staff and everyone over 70.
In global terms, Britain has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with 14.4 per cent of its population of 68 million having received at least one shot so far, according to the University of Oxford’s Our World in Data project. Only Israel (56.3 per cent) and the United Arab Emirates (34.8 per cent) have a higher rate. Canada stands at 2.5 per cent, with almost one million vaccination doses administered.
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In the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that 26 million Americans have received at least one jab, slightly more than the number of U.S. citizens who have the disease.
“It’s a mammoth effort,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock said of Britain’s efforts during a press conference on Monday. “I know just how much these jabs mean to people. … It fills me with pride that so many people are doing so much to help this rollout to happen so smoothly.”
The vaccination program has been one of the few bright spots for the government during the pandemic. For months, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced sharp criticism over the government’s handling of the outbreak.
Cumulative COVID-19 vaccination doses
Administered per 100 people*
Britain
14
12
10
U.S.
8
6
4
Italy
Canada
2
France
0
Dec. 20
Jan. 5
Jan. 15
Jan. 25
Feb. 1
*This is counted as a single dose, and may not equal the total
number of people vaccinated, depending on the specific dose
regime (e.g. multiple doses).
the globe and mail, Source: Our World
in Data – Last updated feb. 1
Cumulative COVID-19 vaccination doses
Administered per 100 people*
Britain
14
12
10
U.S.
8
6
4
Italy
Canada
2
France
0
Dec. 20
Jan. 5
Jan. 15
Jan. 25
Feb. 1
*This is counted as a single dose, and may not equal the total number of people
vaccinated, depending on the specific dose regime (e.g. multiple doses).
the globe and mail, Source: Our World in Data –
Last updated feb. 1
Cumulative COVID-19 vaccination doses
Administered per 100 people*
Britain
14
12
10
U.S.
8
6
4
Italy
Canada
2
France
0
Dec. 20
Dec. 26
Jan. 5
Jan. 15
Jan. 25
Feb. 1
*This is counted as a single dose, and may not equal the total number of people
vaccinated, depending on the specific dose regime (e.g. multiple doses).
the globe and mail, Source: Our World in Data – Last updated feb. 1
Critics have pointed to the botched launch of the test and trace program, delays in getting protective gear to hospital staff and repeated indecision over lockdown measures. Britain has also consistently had one of the highest infection rates in Europe, and the number of people who have died from the disease has surpassed 106,000, one of the highest national totals in the world.
The government has bet heavily on vaccines as a way out of the pandemic, and so far the wager has paid off. Officials were quick to order vaccines from several drug makers last spring and Britain now has more than 400 million doses on order for 2021 and 2022, far more than the country will ever need. Britain has also been a world leader in approving vaccines, encouraging drug trials and tracking genetic changes to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The government has also poured money into vaccine production, and much of the country’s current and future supply of doses will be manufactured domestically.
The effort has been bolstered by widespread public acceptance of vaccines – close to 90 per cent of those surveyed in recent opinion polls said they would take the vaccine – and the tens of thousands of volunteers who have stepped forward to help at vaccination sites.
In early January, Mr. Johnson set the goal of inoculating 15 million older people and hospital staff by mid-February. The target seemed overly ambitious at the time considering Britain had been vaccinating about 300,000 people a week in December and that the government would have to increase that to 200,000 a day to meet the target.
To reach the objective, the government opened dozens of mass vaccination sites and began shipping vials to hundreds of doctors’ offices. The daily number of vaccinations has now climbed to roughly 300,000 a day and it hit nearly 600,000 last Saturday. On Monday, the NHS said it had offered a vaccine to all care home residents in England while officials in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales said they were also close to meeting that threshold.
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 deaths
Rolling seven-day average per million people
18
Britain
16
14
12
10
U.S.
8
Italy
France
6
4
Canada
2
0
Dec. 20
31
Jan. 5
15
25
31
the globe and mail, Source: Our world in data
(Johns Hopkins University CSSE COVID-19 Data) –
Last updated Feb. 1
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 deaths
Rolling seven-day average per million people
18
Britain
16
14
12
10
U.S.
8
Italy
France
6
4
Canada
2
0
Dec. 20
31
Jan. 5
15
25
31
the globe and mail, Source: Our world in data
(Johns Hopkins University CSSE COVID-19 Data) –
Last updated Feb. 1
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 deaths
Rolling seven-day average per million people
18
Britain
16
14
12
10
U.S.
8
Italy
France
6
4
Canada
2
0
Dec. 20
26
31
Jan. 5
10
15
20
25
31
the globe and mail, Source: Our world in data
(Johns Hopkins University CSSE COVID-19 Data) – Last updated Feb. 1
The rollout has gone so well that officials at the World Health Organization have urged Britain to pause its program and help poor countries catch up. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said last weekend that once Britain had inoculated its vulnerable population, vaccinations should stop.
“We’re asking countries, once you’ve got those [high-risk and health care worker] groups, please ensure that the supply you’ve got access to is provided for others,” Ms. Harris told BBC. “We’ll also appeal to all the people of the U.K. – you can wait.”
Mr. Johnson has said the government will play its part in ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines are distributed equitably around the world, but the government has not committed to slowing down the vaccination drive just yet.
There remain plenty of challenges. Health officials said Monday that the South African variant of the virus, which scientists believe is highly contagious, has been found in eight regions of England, including several parts of London. Officials said random checks had uncovered 11 cases that could not be linked to international travel.
Public Health England has launched a door-to-door campaign of mass testing to try to get ahead of the mutation. “This is so important so that we can break the chains of the transmission of this new variant, and we’ve got to bring this virus to heel,” Mr. Hancock said.
There have been concerns that the current vaccines in widespread use – from Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Moderna – might not be as effective against the South African version. While tests have shown some reduction in efficacy, researchers say they remain confident the vaccines will be effective in protecting people against the variant.
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Paul Waldie