The next danger... Britain urges citizens to get coronavirus vaccine doses

Written by Mohamed Salem

British health authorities have urged millions of citizens, especially the elderly, to book new doses of the coronavirus vaccine during the spring, amid warnings that immunity acquired against the virus may wane over time.

The British Health Service announced that tens of thousands of appointments are available daily through doctors' clinics and pharmacies, according to the British Daily Mail newspaper.

She confirmed that people aged 75 and over, as well as residents of care homes and those with weakened immune systems, are eligible to receive the dose without needing to wait for an official invitation.

Doses are necessary to maintain protection

In this regard, Caroline Temenk, director of the vaccination program, said that the virus is still spreading throughout the year and may pose a significant risk to vulnerable groups, stressing that immune protection may gradually fade, making booster doses necessary to maintain protection.

This move by the British health authorities coincides with the publication of the results of an investigation into the management of the coronavirus pandemic, which describes the vaccination campaign as a success story that helped save hundreds of thousands of lives.

The investigation detailed that the rapid development of vaccines, including the Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccines, did not compromise strict safety standards, that the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risks, and that the program had helped save millions of lives globally.

Warnings from health experts in Britain

In the same context, health experts in Britain warned that a new strain of coronavirus could soon become dominant in the country, prompting them to demand that COVID-19 vaccines be included in pre-school vaccination programs, as the BA.3.2 virus is spreading.

According to the Daily Mail, UK health security agency officials have not disclosed the number of cases of the strain detected so far, but experts are concerned that the mutations it carries will allow it to bypass the immune defenses provided by current vaccines.

The symptoms remain similar to those of the original virus, including extreme fatigue, fever, and body aches, but school-aged children appear to be more susceptible to the strain. Analyses indicate that the strain's spike protein, which vaccines train the body to recognize and attack, has now undergone about 75 mutations, making it an entirely new threat to the immune system.