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world news Diahuebs 14 Januari 2021

Britain's Johnson pledges UK vaccine program will run 24-7

(AP) — Britain's corona- alcohol outdoors and barring
virus vaccine program will the public from going inside
operate around the clock businesses to collect take-
seven days a week “as soon away orders.
as we can,” Prime Minis-
ter Boris Johnson pledged The U.K. government has
Wednesday as the U.K. ac- set a goal of delivering the
celerates efforts to inocu- first vaccine dose to every-
late millions of its most one over age 70, as well as
vulnerable people against frontline health care workers,
coronavirus. nursing home residents and
anyone whose health makes
Johnson said “at the moment, them especially vulnerable
the limit is on supply” of the to the virus, by the middle of
vaccines rather than on the February. That’s more than
ability of the country's health 15 million people.
service to deliver jabs quickly. cess to get priority for the
The push to inoculate mil- Vaccinations will be given at “In any manufacturing pro- COVID-19 shots. He said there are “some early
lions quickly comes as a more hundreds of doctors’ offices cess, especially one where signs” that recent lockdown
contagious variant of CO- and community pharmacies, you’re dealing with a biologi- “One of the things that I’m measures were reducing
VID-19 is sweeping across 50 mass vaccination sites cal compound, a novel vac- worried about is actually transmission of the virus, but
Britain and driving hospitals at convention centers and cine, is lumpy at the outset,” maintaining a continuous it was “far, far too early” to
to their breaking points. sports stadiums, as well as at he told the Commons Sci- supply and work on this vac- ease the restrictions.
223 hospitals. ence and Technology Com- cine,” he said as he appealed
His comments came as the mittee. “There’s no doubt for workers to be immunized. England’s health care system
government said 1,564 more Britain is already using the that it was, but getting better. “If you have an outbreak at may move patients into ho-
people had died within 28 COVID-19 vaccines from ... We have millions of doses one of the centers — which tels to ease the pressure on
days of testing positive, the Pfizer-BioNTech and Ox- coming through in the weeks we’ve had actually — or in hospitals struggling to handle
highest figure reported in ford-AstraZeneca and has and then next month and the one of the groups in Oxford rising COVID-19 admis-
Britain on a single day since approved one made by Mod- month after.” working on new variants, or sions.
the pandemic began. Britain erna, but that one is not ex- the people that are working
already had Europe’s highest pected to be delivered until The challenge, Zahawi said, on the regulatory files, every- Health Secretary Matt Han-
COVID-19 death toll. spring. was not just getting vaccine thing stops.'' cock said Wednesday that the
shots into people's arms, but National Health Service was
The U.K. is under an indefi- The pace of the country's the difficulty of reaching The government is desper- looking at ways to reduce the
nite national lockdown to vaccination drive remains a vulnerable people. Greater ately trying to protect people strain on hospitals, includ-
curb the spread of the new constant source of discus- daily volumes of inoculations with vaccines before hospi- ing moving patients to hotels
variant, with nonessential sion. could be achieved if specific tals are overwhelmed with when appropriate.
shops, gyms and hairdressers groups weren't targeted, he cases of the new, more infec-
closed, most people work- Johnson’s comments came as said. tions virus variant. “We would only ever do that
ing from home and schools his vaccines minister, Nad- if it was clinically the right
largely offering remote learn- him Zahawi, testified before In a reflection of the frantic Johnson said “the risk is very thing for somebody,” Han-
ing. But some are calling for a parliamentary committee demand, Mene Pangalos, ex- substantial” of intensive care cock told Sky News. “In
even tougher measures. that the government now ecutive vice president of bio- capacity being outstripped. some cases, people need sit-
had “line of sight” of deliver- pharmaceuticals research and He said hospitals in England down care, they don’t actu-
Scotland's leader, First Min- ies to the end of February but development at AstraZeneca, were treating about 32,000 ally need to be in a hospital
ister Nicola Sturgeon, tight- sidestepped questions about asked the committee to help COVID-19 patients, about bed.”
ened restrictions Wednesday, week-by-week vaccine deliv- gain permission for people 70% more than during the
barring the consumption of eries. working in the vaccine pro- first peak in April.

German government defends slow vaccination campaign

(AP) — Germany’s health min- rope.” be approved in the EU. tant matter with the states in a sen-
ister on Wednesday defended the While large countries like France and sible way," said Left party lawmaker
government's decision to procure Germany could have gone it alone, The EU required the vaccines to get Amira Mohamed Ali.
and approve vaccines against the smaller nations would have struggled regular clearance rather than emer-
coronavirus along with the rest of to compete for the doses they need, gency use permission, a decision Spahn said it was important to “re-
the European Union amid criti- sparking acrimony among the bloc's Spahn said would help boost accep- main realistic in the coming weeks,”
cism that the rollout of shots in 27 members, he said. tance for the shots. But this delayed adding that Germans should expect
the country has been too slow. the start of the vaccination campaign to have to wear masks, practice social
“It was right to act as Europeans,” compared to other countries. distancing and reduce their contacts
Noting that Germany depends on the Spahn said in a speech to parliament. for some time.
free movement of goods and people “We mustn't just invoke Europe in Germany has so far administered
across EU borders, Jens Spahn told Sunday sermons — we have to let ac- shots to 750,000 of its 83 million resi- Senior government officials this
lawmakers that it was a “question tions follow words when it counts.” dents, far fewer per capita than Israel, week warned that Germany's lock-
of economic sense not to vaccinate Britain or the United States. down measures may not be enough
countries individually, but all of Eu- Spahn didn't mention that Germany to reduce COVID infections before
has also signed bilateral contracts Opposition lawmakers criticized that Easter, especially if the seemingly
with vaccine makers, highlighting each of Germany's 16 states is orga- more contagious variants which have
only the overall figure of 140 mil- nizing the vaccine appointments in a emerged in Britain and South Africa
lion doses expected to be delivered by different way, with no centralized ho- take hold.
BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna this tline or system to ensure that vulner-
year. Germany has also ordered 56 able groups are prioritized. The country's disease control agency
million doses from AstraZeneca and reported 19,600 newly confirmed
more than 100 million from manu- “I expect the federal government to coronavirus infections in the past day,
facturers whose vaccines have yet to be able to coordinate such an impor- and 1,060 deaths.