Quiet after the jabs storm: Handful of Londoners line up for vaccine as NHS bus parks in Notting Hill… 24 hours after it was mobbed by thousands in Chinatown due to ‘miscommunication’ about undocumented workers
- Short queues of people have been pictured waiting for their jabs in Notting Hill, west London this morning
- The vaccination bus returned to capital today after yesterday’s Chinatown chaos required a police response
- Thousands of people turned up after ‘undocumented migrants’ invite sent out by Chinese Information Centre
- Westminster Council and North West London NHS CCG were behind the event which aims to boost jab uptake
Small queues of people have been pictured waiting for their jabs at a vaccine bus in London today, following yesterday’s chaos that saw thousands of people descend on Chinatown.
The vaccine bus, administered by Westminster City Council and North West London NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, has been in Notting Hill, west London today.
Short queues of people eager to receive their Covid-19 jabs were pictured this morning – a welcome sight in the wake of yesterday’s chaos that saw police called out to marshal the thousands who turned up in central London.
Today, the NHS clarified that yesterday’s event had been for ‘eligible people’ only, but this was miscommunicated by the Chinese Information and Advice Centre who had earlier put out a call for ‘undocumented migrants’ and those without ‘an NHS ID or number’ to attend.
Vaccine buses have been set-up across the country in the hope of boosting uptake in areas where inoculation rates are at their lowest.
A handful of Londoners patiently queue for their Covid-19 vaccinations in Notting Hill, west London today
Vaccination buses have been set-up across the capital to boost inoculation rates in the areas where they are at their lowest
People fill the streets of London’s Chinatown yesterday afternoon where free Covid-19 jabs were offered without a prior appointment
Police control the crowds after a Covid-19 vaccination van turned up in London’s Chinatown yesterday afternoon
Today’s vaccine bus arrived in Portabello Road at 10am and moved on to Tavistock Road, and will finish up their west London trip at 4pm.
This morning’s pictures show small queues of Londoners – a fraction of the thousands who flooded London’s Chinatown yesterday in extraordinary scenes after a council ‘vaccine bus’ promised Covid-19 jabs with no appointment, NHS number or identification needed.
NHS North West London Clinical Commissioning Group organised the event for those already eligible for their jab – and it is understood that this was miscommunicated by the Chinese Information and Advice Centre.
Adults crowded onto a pavement outside a barbershop next to the small van, after an advert was posted on the Chinese Information and Advice Centre charity’s website to say that ‘undocumented migrants’ were welcome.
Officers from the Met were forced to control the huge crowds, which are reported to have numbered in the thousands, in Gerarrd Street as people flocked to Chinatown to get their jabs.
Huge crowds in Chinatown with Covid-19 jabs on offer for a day without appointment and any need for proof of address
Yesterday’s mob came after this advert was posted on the Chinese Information and Advice Centre’s social media pages
Hundreds of people turn up to be vaccinated after jabs were offered in London’s Chinatown yesterday afternoon
The Westminster Council bus is an official service facilitated by the Government and NHS – and goes to different locations
Vaccine buses have popped up around the UK with volunteer groups enlisted to help run them in areas where take-up has been low such as Luton and Bolton, but the demand in Chinatown was the highest seen so far.
NHS staff are on board to help deliver the vaccine, alongside council staff and volunteers who are helping to answer questions people might have about the jab, testing and staying safe during the pandemic.
Covid-19 jabs can only be booked via the NHS website or at a GP surgery, and it is not clear if the vaccine being offered was one of the three approved jabs. Those who are not eligible have been told to wait to be contacted.
Currently, people in England can only get their jab if they are aged 30 or over, will turn 30 before July 1, are classed as clinically vulnerable, have a learning disability or are a frontline health or social care worker.
People can also have one if they get a carer’s allowance, get support following a council assessment or their GP record shows they are a carer. Patients have been told not to take up offers of the jab from non-official providers.
The news comes as it was revealed three per cent of Brits infected with the Indian Covid variant were fully vaccinated, according to official data that bolsters hopes ‘Freedom Day’ can still go ahead next month
But there are still calls for No10 to delay the next step of lockdown-easing on June 21 over fears the mutant strain could cause hospitals to be crippled once again.
Public Health England analysis shows only 177 out of 5,599 people who caught the mutant strain and presented to A&E had already had both jabs. Almost 3,400 had not yet had their first dose.
Top scientists called the findings ‘incredibly reassuring’. Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, said: ‘It shows we’ve got the tools to end this.’
Other promising data showing the success of the jab blitz shows the average age of people testing positive is now just 29, the youngest ever recorded and down from 41 at the start of the year. If the trend stays the same, Professor Hunter said Britain ‘should be able to manage the third wave without too much pressure on the NHS and without re-imposition of lockdown’.
But plans to go ahead with ‘Freedom Day’ on June 21 hang in the balance because of the rapid spread of the Indian variant, with cautious scientists calling for ministers to delay the final step on the roadmap back to normality.
Boris Johnson yesterday admitted he might delay the end of lockdown, prompting business leaders, hospitality chiefs and senior MPs to urge the PM to stick to his Covid roadmap. They begged him not to ‘steal our summer’ because delaying the full lifting would be ‘devastating’ for the economy.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng today insisted it was ‘impossible’ to know how the situation would unfold over the next fortnight. He said ‘there’s nothing in the data that suggests we should move the day’ but refused to rule out local lockdowns and keeping businesses closed in Indian variants hotspots such as Bolton.
Ministers are quietly confident they can press ahead with the route back to normality, given that Britain’s vaccine drive has severed the once impenetrable link between cases and hospitalisations. More than 38million adults have already had one dose, and 24million have had both.
UK regulator FINALLY approves Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid vaccine
By Joe Davies for MailOnline
Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid vaccine has finally been authorised for use by the UK medicines regulator but it will not be available until later this year.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) today announced the vaccine meets the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the jab as another ‘another weapon in our arsenal to beat the pandemic’.
Earlier this year, the single-dose vaccine was shown to be 67 per cent effective overall in preventing Covid infection and 85 per cent effective in preventing severe disease or hospitalisation.
The vaccine can be stored at fridge temperatures, between two to eight degrees, making it ideal for distribution to care homes and other locations across the UK.
Johnson & Johnson ‘s single-dose Covid vaccine has finally been authorised for use by the UK medicines regulator but it will not be available until later this year
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, previously said could be used for hard-to-reach groups of people, where recalling them for a second jab is not always successful.
Health officials believe the one dose schedule could be more appealing to vaccine-hesitant Britons, who they fear are harder to convince to turn up for two appointments.
It only takes three weeks following injection to achieve full protection.
The vaccines currently being rolled out in Britain require two doses, given three months apart.
Britain originally ordered 30million doses of J&J’s vaccine but the order has been reduced to 20million these are not expected to start arriving until mid-summer.
In April, the European Medicines Agency said a warning about unusual blood clots with low blood platelet count should be added to the product information for the vaccine.
This followed eight cases of blood clots in more than seven million people vaccinated in the US.
The condition in question, known as cerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT), is the development of a blood clot in a vein that carries blood away from the brain. Experts say it is occurring in combination with low levels of blood platelets.
Several European countries have restricted the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in under-40s, with Belgium halting its use to the group yesterday after a woman died of a complication.
Officials insist the disorder — the same as the one seen in AstraZeneca’s vaccine — is extremely rare but seems to be happening slightly more often in young people who have been vaccinated.
Johnson & Johnson say the vaccine works across multiple variants of coronavirus. Other vaccines have been shown to be effective against the Indian variant currently spreading in the UK so experts believe the Johnson & Johnson jab will as well.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘This is a further boost to the UK’s hugely successful vaccination programme, which has already saved over 13,000 lives, and means that we now have four safe and effective vaccines approved to help protect people from this awful virus.
‘As Janssen is a single-dose vaccine, it will play an important role in the months to come as we redouble our efforts to encourage everyone to get their jabs and potentially begin a booster programme later this year.’
As with all vaccines, the government is in regular contact with the manufacturers, including exploring how best to optimise supply across the current programme and preparing for a potential booster programme from later this year.
The Vaccine Taskforce originally secured 30million doses of the Janssen vaccine last year, based on the predicted clinical need at the time.
Britain originally ordered 30million doses of the Johnson and Johnson, or Janssen, vaccine but its order has been reduced to 20million
With the UK’s Covid vaccination programme continuing at an unprecedented scale and pace, the government has decided to amend its original order to 20million.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will submit updated advice for the Janssen vaccine before doses become available.
Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: ‘The Janssen vaccine will be another weapon in our arsenal to beat this pandemic.
‘We are doing everything we can to vaccinate all adults as quickly as possible and I encourage everybody to come forward for a jab as soon as they are eligible.’
In a clinical trial involving 43,783 people, published earlier this year, the level of protection against moderate to severe Covid infection was found to be 72 per cent in the United States arm of the trial.
It was 66 per cent in the Latin American arm of the trial, and 57 per cent in the South African arm, where a mutant variant of the virus has been dominating.
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