LONDON: Britain's health minister Sajid Javid said on Sunday he expected to receive advice imminently on whether the government can broaden a booster shot programme to try to weaken the impact of the newly identified Omicron coronavirus variant.
The government announced new measures on Saturday to try to slow the spread of the variant, toughening rules for people arriving into Britain and ordering the use of face masks in retail settings and on transport in England.
But ministers also want to ramp up the offer of booster jabs, saying even if vaccines prove to be less effective against Omicron, they should offer better protection against it and reduce the number of hospitalisations and deaths.
"The other thing that still remains hugely important, but I think it's fair to say now more important than it was before, is our vaccination programme," Javid told Sky News.
"That is why I have also asked our expert advisers on vaccines called JCVI (the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) to give me very quick advice on broadening, boosting our booster programme, and I expect to get that advice imminently."
Earlier this month, Britain expanded eligibility for booster jabs to people in their 40s and also said children aged 16 and 17 would be able to receive a second dose following guidance from the JCVI.
Scotland, where the government sets its own rules for health, already requires people to wear face coverings and work from home if possible, but its first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, told the BBC's Andrew Marr show she would also bring in new rules for arrivals.
World races to contain new Covid variant
"I think we need to be open minded to doing anything required to keep the population safe right now," she told the BBC's Andrew Marr show.
The discovery of Omicron, dubbed a "variant of concern" last week by the World Health Organization, has sparked worries around the world that it could resist vaccinations and prolong the nearly two-year COVID-19 pandemic.
Britain has confirmed two cases of the new variant, and Javid said the new measures were needed to buy time for experts to try to understand more about Omicron, which may, or may not, make vaccines less effective.
"There is reason to think that it may, and I stress the word may..., turn out to make our vaccines less effective, it may not, we just don't know enough," he said.
"The point is the vaccines are still going to give you more protection than otherwise, that is why the booster programme is so important."
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