Health Workers Warned Vaccine Likely To Have Only ‘marginal impact’ on Hospital Numbers During ‘hard winter’

Health Workers Warned Vaccine Likely To Have Only ‘marginal impact’ on Hospital Numbers During ‘hard winter’.

The UK’s four chief medical officers have warned that new coronavirus vaccines will only have a “marginal impact” on hospital numbers over the winter. Health services should plan for a tough three months between now and the spring, the medical chiefs have said. In a letter written to colleagues, the four warned that festive gatherings would likely put additional pressure on the NHS and other care services.

Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer of England, Dr Gregor Smith of Scotland, Dr Frank Atherton of Wales, and Dr Michael McBride of Northern Ireland, all signed the letter. It read: “Winter is always a challenging time for the NHS and wider health and social care service. This year will be especially hard due to Covid-19.

“Although the very welcome news about vaccines means that we can look forward to 2021 with greater optimism, vaccine deployment will have only a marginal impact in reducing numbers coming into the health service with Covid over the next three months.

“The actions and self-discipline of the whole population during lockdowns and other restrictions have helped reduce the peak and in most parts of the four nations hospital numbers are likely to fall over the next few weeks, but not everywhere. The social mixing which occurs around Christmas may well put additional pressure on hospitals and general practice in the New Year and we need to be ready for that.”

The letter praised health workers for responding “magnificently” to the challenges of the pandemic and stressed the importance of continuing support for others within the profession.

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