Number 10, the Department of Health, and the NHS have been considering a radical way to drive up Covid vaccine intake in England; according to media reports, door-to-door teams might be sent to those who have not yet got a jab.
Official data shows 89.7% of the UK population over 12 years old have had at least one shot of a vaccine, but those 10% who are still unvaccinated represent a source of constant concern for the authorities of all four parts of the UK.
According to the Mail on Sunday, UK authorities are considering the idea of sending nurses to people’s homes as a way to avoid new restrictive measures and to deliver vaccines to rural areas where vaccination centers might be less accessible.
The outlet provides a quote of an unnamed cabinet minister who claims that he supports anything that “encourages the vaccine-hesitant” and who believes that “the mood in the country is hardening against people who refuse to be vaccinated.”
The government has not responded to the reports that come ahead of the prime minister’s announcement on further Covid measures. Boris Johnson is expected to make a statement on Monday amid the fast spread of the Omicron variant, which has already prompted the reintroduction of some restrictions. More than 122,000 new Covid cases were reported in the UK on Friday alone – another daily record since the beginning of the pandemic.