Britons rush to get shots in booster blitz against omicron

LONDON (AP) — Long lines formed Monday at vaccination centres across England as people heeded the government's call for all adults to get booster shots to protect themselves against the omicron variant, as the United Kingdom recorded its first death of a patient infected with omicron.

In a televised announcement late Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said everyone 18 and up would be offered a third vaccine dose by December 31 — less than three weeks away, and a month earlier than the previous target.

Johnson said boosters would “reinforce our wall of vaccine protection” against an anticipated “tidal wave of omicron.”

The British government raised the country's official coronavirus threat level on Sunday, warning that the rapid spread of omicron “adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and health care services.”

UK health authorities say omicron cases are doubling every two to three days in Britain, and it will replace delta as the dominant coronavirus strain within days. But it's unclear whether the expected wave of infections will inundate the country's state-funded health care system.

Scientists in South Africa, where omicron was first identified, say they see signs the variant may cause less severe disease than delta but caution that it's too soon to be certain.

Health authorities around the world are watching Britain closely to see what an omicron surge looks like in a country with an older, more highly vaccinated population than South Africa's.

About 10 people are in UK hospitals with COVID-19 caused by omicron, and Johnson on Monday said the country's first COVID-19 death involving the variant had been confirmed.

“So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population,” Johnson said as he visited a vaccination centre in London. “So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.”

The UK Health Security Agency says existing vaccines appear less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to omicron, though effectiveness appears to rise to between 70% and 75% after a third dose.

More than 80% of people age 12 and up in Britain have received two vaccine doses, and 40% of adults have had three. Giving the rest boosters by the end of the month will be a huge challenge, requiring almost 1 million vaccine shots delivered a day.

Johnson acknowledged that many routine medical procedures would have to be postponed to meet the goal.

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