Johnson’s plan B measures fall far short of what is needed to slow the spread of Covid | Chaand Nagpaul

The NHS will soon be overwhelmed unless coherent and strict rules are applied to social distancing

  • Dr Chaand Nagpaul is chair of the British Medical Association council

In Sunday evening’s extraordinary televised address, when the prime minister warned that Britain was facing a “tidal wave” of Omicron cases, it was notable that the only focus was the mission to vaccinate the nation with boosters. There was no mention of the other vital public health measures needed to urgently reduce the levels of social mixing and prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.

Given the reduced effectiveness of two vaccinations against the new Omicron variant, there is absolutely no doubt that the accelerated booster campaign is crucial to control the spread and impact of the virus – but we cannot rely on this alone. The alarming pace with which it is spreading through the country, with a record of more than 78,000 new daily cases yesterday, shows the pressing need for additional effective infection control measures to be introduced immediately to protect the population.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul is chair of the British Medical Association council

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Coronavirus | The Guardian

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