32.5 million, may be more booster jabs now and it allows us to go ahead with new year in the cautious way that we are. but i cannot stress too much how vital it is for everybody to get that booster, particularly the 2.4 million people who have had to jabs but not yet to their booster, they have had their jobs more than six or seven months ago so they are eligible but they have not come forward yet. come forward and get it, is a fantastic thing to do, it makes a huge amount of difference to you, you protect you. i am sorry to say this but the overwhelming majority of people ending up in intensive care in our hospitals are people who are not boosted. i have spoken to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90% of people in intensive care are not boosted. if you are not
boosted. we know the government has accepted that target to offer every eligible person in the uk that boosted jabber by the uk that boosted jabber by the end of the year. only a few days left to do that. in some ways that offer has already been met. people have been told to come forward for their booster jabs, to come forward for their boosterjabs, we have seen them going to walk in centres and going to walk in centres and going out to people to remind people to get that boosterjab too. i think something that has encouraged ministers is as part of this campaign, they are also seeing an uptick in people getting their first seeing an uptick in people getting theirfirst or seeing an uptick in people getting their first or second jabs who may not have done so. in terms of what may lie ahead, presumably no one is putting any predictions on when or if it will be necessary to introduce further restrictions, but in some ways the impact of them is already being felt, isn t it? a lot of people
the latest survey by the office for national statistics suggests that a5 million people in the uk had the virus last week, up 15% on the previous week, though that rate of increase was slower than during the week before. in england, it was one in 15 who had the virus. in scotland, wales and northern ireland, one in 20 people. there is a renewed push on booster jabs, with take up much slower since the new year including here in nottingham and across the east midlands, where the message sometimes hasn t been heard. a part of me questions whether it s actually effective. and how many are we going to have to have after that? i really want to get it done. because of everything that you see in the news, really. health officials in the region say the booster roll out may have slowed, but vaccine centres are busy. we are still continuing to see hundreds of people coming in each week for their first dose, so we have to recognise that people
the good news is that booster jabs are holding fast against the omicron wave. even as new cases have surged, hospital admissions remain a long way off the peak seen this time last year. but hundreds of thousands of people are currently isolating for at least seven days, so now there s a suggestion that in england, at least that period could be cut to five days instead. i think if the experts, and i have to defer to the uk health and security agency, deem it appropriate that you can have two negative tests on consecutive days, as we do now with day six and seven, then it s a good thing to keep under review. some experts agree a five day isolation period could be safely introduced. you re generally infectious for about two days before you develop symptoms to about three, maybe four days afterwards, so limiting the cut off point to five days wouldn t really substantially increased risk. so you think the advantages outweigh any possible risks? that would have considerable benefits in t
the good news is that booster jabs are holding fast against the omicron wave. even as new cases have surged, hospital admissions remain a long way off the peak seen this time last year. but each day, hundreds of thousands of people are having to isolate for at least seven days, so now there s a suggestion that period could be cut to five days instead. it would help with staff absenteeism, hence why i think if the experts, and i have to defer to the uk health and security agency, deem it appropriate that you can have two negative tests on consecutive days as we do now with day six and seven, then it is a good thing to keep under review. mr zahawi denied reports the government was planning to start charging for lateral flow tests, and labour s shadow chancellor said people need to be able to test regularly to stop passing on the virus. i m very concerned by this briefing from government that lateral flow tests could be charged for any time soon. lateral flow tests are absolutely essentia