The most serious cases of Covid-19 in the UK and other rich countries are increasingly concentrated among unvaccinated people. The Office for National Statistics published an alternative set of figures that show the number of deaths from unvaccinated people in England between January and September.
The data do not show a link between vaccines and mortality, as was stressed by the UK Health Security Agency. The death rates of unvaccinated groups could be different. A recent analysis shows that of 40,000 Covid patients in the hospital, only 3% were double-vaccinated.
The low take-up of vaccines among some groups was a cause for concern, as well as the doctors who have described their distress when confronted by dying people who have deliberately avoided vaccines. The vaccination rate for children is 39.1%, compared with 67.4% of adults who have had at least one dose. Concerns about the Omicron variant, which may be less effective than the current vaccines, make the issue of vaccine take-up more urgent.
The deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, announced at the press conference on Monday that children aged 12 to 15 would be eligible to receive second doses 12 weeks after their initial jab. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been approved for those aged five to 11 in the US, so a decision is likely to be made before Christmas. Boosters were mostly reserved for over-40s a fortnight ago, but will be offered to all adults. Those with suppressed immune systems can get a fourth booster jab. The advice to pregnant women to get vaccinations has been strengthened.
Prof Van-Tam and others have explained that the purpose is to try to get ahead of the mutating virus and behave according to precautionary principles. The new rules about mask-wearing are sensible. In the past, it has been overlooked.
The Omicron variant may be no more dangerous than the Delta variant. The prime minister should use this moment to improve his vaccine messaging. It is incumbent on senior politicians to set an example to the younger generation, because with vaccines now compulsory for care home workers, and causing problems where staff have left jobs rather than be jabbed, it is more important than ever. They need to do more to combat vaccine misinformation online by demanding in public that Facebook and other platforms take down the anti-vaxx propaganda that they allow to spread, but also by using their own words and actions.
There is still a pandemic going on. The danger may be on the rise again. Along with delivering boosters, boosting the vaccination rate must now be the government's domestic priority, while internationally it should do everything it can to promote efforts to vaccine the world.
