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Here’s the latest news from the United Kingdom, with the Prime Minister announcing updates to the nation’s COVID-19 plan. There are 3 things to focus on:
1.England has scrapped plans for vaccine passports
In the middle of summer, plans were initiated for vaccine passports to enter indoor venues including nightclubs and other crowded arenas. A current negative COVID test would not suffice (even though thinking logically, this would be much better than a vaccine passport for reducing spread). I spoke about this issue a couple of months ago, and my own concerns including both from a civil liberties perspective in a free country, but also how it wouldn’t necessarily even achieve the health goals in mind. I am personally glad to see England shelve this plan (for now).
2.Proceeding with a vaccination program in children 12-15
There has been intense debate about this in the UK over the last few months, and I recently also spoke about how the government expert advisory committee, the JCVI, said that it couldn’t recommend a widespread vaccination program to healthy children based on health benefits alone. The Chief Medical Officers of the United Kingdom and government ministers, have now overruled that decision—and decided to proceed with a one dose strategy only in children. I know this is causing a lot of discussion in the UK, and many British doctors I’ve seen have differing views on this. Every European country appears to have its own approach, France was one of the first countries to start vaccinating children, Sweden is still not recommending it. In the UK, it appears one of the reasons cited with proceeding was concern over “educational disruption”. One caveat though that is very different from the USA’s all-or-nothing approach, is that the UK is only proceeding with a single-dose strategy for under 18s. As a physician who is all about acknowledging nuances in medicine, and modifying strategies when necessary, I applaud the UK taking its time here. My understanding too is that this will not be mandated in the UK, and will be a choice for every family.
3.Boosters for the vulnerable
The UK will be rolling out a booster program, focusing on the most vulnerable first. The necessity of boosters in younger healthier people is also currently being debated in the US, and we have yet to see solid evidence yet of whether it will truly improve outcomes. My thought though on the vulnerable, and I’ve been having some of these discussions over the last couple of weeks, and also talking to some elderly family members and contacts even in the UK—I know winters can be harsh, people are driven indoors, and that’s when respiratory viruses love spreading. Vulnerable people who I have spoken to who took their COVID jabs in December and early this year, and have been fine with it— I have said it’s probably wise to consider a booster shot before the winter sets in, to give a compromised immune system any boost you can give it.
Some very interesting developments then from the UK, and also interesting to see how different thought processes are on different sides of the Atlantic.
Suneel Dhand is a physician, writer, and YouTuber. He is Founder at MedStoic Lifestyle Medicine and DocsDox . Follow him on YouTube and Facebook.