On the verge of reaching its goal of vaccinating 15 million priority people against the coronavirus, the United Kingdom is entering a new phase of its campaign.
From Monday, people aged 65 to 69 and “
clinically vulnerable
”
people will begin to be vaccinated, the
public health service, the NHS, said in a statement on Sunday.
These four categories, which include more than 70 years, front-line caregivers, employees and residents of retirement homes and the most vulnerable patients, represent 15 million people, out of a total population of 66 million.
“
The vaccination program continues at an unprecedented speed
,” said the NHS.
Read also: Has France become the country that vaccinates the most in Europe?
The hardest hit country in Europe with nearly 117,000 dead, the United Kingdom has deployed a mass vaccination campaign.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to announce on February 22 his "
road map
" to get out of containment, the third, established in early January against an explosion of the epidemic due to the more contagious variant that appeared in Kent.
In front of British television channels Boris Johnson was "
optimistic
" Saturday about the possibility of moving towards a "
cautious
"
relaxation
of restrictions, on the sidelines of a visit to a vaccine factory.
He hopes to be able to reopen schools on March 8 and according to the Sunday Telegraph citing a government source, it will be possible on that date to meet a person outside their home outdoors, for a coffee on a bench or a picnic in a park.
Against the importation of new variants, from Monday will enter into force the system of compulsory hotel quarantine for British or Irish residents arriving from 33 countries at risk, from which arrivals for non-residents are prohibited.
The government wants to have vaccinated by the end of April with a first dose 99% of people at risk of dying from the coronavirus.
