By Expert claims that vaccinating the world is unachievable
A UK vaccine scientist has claimed that vaccinating the world is unachievable as it is ‘not sustainable or affordable’, the BBC reported.
Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, who aided in the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine, suggested prioritising vulnerable groups would help tackle coronavirus more effectively.
He told BBC Radio 4: “It really is not affordable, sustainable or probably even needed to vaccinate everyone on the planet every four to six months.
“We haven’t even managed to vaccinate everyone in Africa with one dose so we’re certainly not going to get to a point where fourth doses for everyone is manageable.”
Whilst the UK has been relatively successful with rolling out vaccines, vaccinating the whole world is another matter as other countries are further behind with their progress.
However, 157,758 Covid cases were still reported for England and Scotland on Monday 3 January and the NHS has been calling for further restrictions as hospitalisations increase.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been holding back on implementing further restrictions, unlike the rest of the UK, in order to rebuild the economy more.
Current ‘Plan B’ restrictions only include wearing masks in some indoor locations as well as working from home when possible.
It is still unclear whether a second booster jab will be necessary for UK residents.
Things may change, however, if new variants continue to surface.
The government has continued to reassure the public that they are constantly monitoring the situation.
If variants like Omicron repeatedly lead to milder symptoms, the world could be on track to eradicating coronavirus altogether by 2023.
This can only work effectively if people continue to get vaccinated around the world to prevent further variants from developing into some more deadly.
Figures have also revealed that the majority of hospitalisations are linked to the unvaccinated which has been putting strain on the NHS.
The Prime Minister is due to hold a conference at 5:00pm tonight, Tuesday 4 January, to discuss the current situation.
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