The number of cases and deaths have been rising to such dangerous levels that experts are fearing the worst for Britons in the midst of the holiday season.
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Christmas to be put on hold?
With daily COVID cases surpassing the 40,000 mark for seven days in a row and death rates being similar to those of the deadly second wave, the booster jab is the UK's last hope. But to experts' dismay, the rollout of the booster vaccine is not going as smoothly as they had hoped. This has led experts to believe that Christmas celebrations, like we once knew them to be, might very well not be taking place this year.
To make matters worse, a new sub-variant of the Delta strain—the AY.4.2—is ravaging several parts of the UK and has even been said to be up to 15% more contagious. Not to mention, after Boris Johnson confirmed that COVID restrictions would not be reintroduced earlier this week, NHS experts have predicted a massive wave to take over.
Initiatives to fight the virus
As a result, initiatives have been undertaken to try to halt the spread of the virus so as to diminish the likelihood of hospitals to be overwhelmed in the coming weeks. Health Secretary Sajid Javid praised The Sun's campaign to encourage millions of arms to be jabbed before the end of the year. In a statement, he said:
I’m delighted that the Sun has launched this hugely important campaign to encourage more people to come forward for their booster when invited. As we approach winter, we’ll need to draw on this spirit once again, to help keep our country safe.
And added:
This truly is a national effort. So please come forward as soon as possible to get your jabs—to protect yourselves, your loved ones, and the extraordinary progress we’ve made together.
