U.K. Lockdown: Covid Could Overwhelm National Health Service in 3 Weeks

Boris Johnson pinned his hopes for a national recovery on a plan to deliver 2 million coronavirus vaccinations a week, as the U.K. went back into lockdown in an attempt to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed.

Amid dire warnings that the National Health Service could fail to cope with soaring infection rates, the prime minister shut England’s schools and ordered people across the country to stay at home. U.K. Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak on Tuesday pledged new support to help companies and Johnson will give a news conference at 5 p.m. London time.

Johnson warned of hard weeks ahead but announced a target to give shots to 13.9 million people at the highest risk from the disease by mid-February. Once they have all been vaccinated, the restrictions can begin to be eased, he said.

“With every jab that goes into our arms, we are tilting the odds against Covid and in favor of the British people,” Johnson said a televised address. “The weeks ahead will be the hardest yet, but I really do believe that we are entering the last phase of the struggle.”

Meeting the ambitious target will depend on having enough vaccine doses, according to Doug Brown, chief executive of the British Society for Immunology.

“The bottleneck doesn’t seem to be on the logistical side,” Brown said in an interview. “The NHS is ready to deliver.” If any glitches do arise, it will likely be with supply, he said. “If we get the supplies, we can vaccinate that many people.”

The emergency measures, matching curbs in other parts of the U.K., started on Monday night and will last until at least Feb. 15 as medics try to get a grip on the pandemic. Johnson said he had no option but to close down all social activities, education and non-essential travel in the face of a sudden and severe surge in infections.

The announcement risks potentially devastating retail and hospitality businesses and threatening to push the economy into recession again. The pound fell.

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