U.K. to Keep Vaccinating by Age With Over 40s From Mid-April

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. will continue offering coronavirus vaccines according to age in the next phase of its inoculation program, moving on to those over 40 years old from mid-April as it resists calls to provide jabs to younger people in at-risk professions.

“Trying to switch from an age-based program to an occupation-based program would be more complex,” Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, told an online briefing Friday. “Speed is the critical factor.”

Some professionals -- such as teachers and retail workers -- had argued that they should be next in line to receive their vaccine, given the frequency of human contact in their jobs. Britain has Europe’s most successful vaccination program, and the government said it’s on course to offer a shot to all adults by the end of July.

As of Thursday, 18.7 million people had received a vaccination across the U.K. Over 50s are due to be offered a jab by the middle of April.

“We’ll be reviewing the priorities all the way down.” Shen Lim said. “As we go down the age groups, the risk of severe disease will be lower and lower.”

The spread of the coronavirus is continuing to ease in England, data published Friday showed. An estimated 0.69% of the population had the disease in the week ending Feb. 19 -- the lowest level since October, according to an infection survey by the Office for National Statistics.

The reproduction rate of the virus in the U.K. is between 0.6 and 0.9, the same as a week ago, the government said Friday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out a plan to re-open the economy in stages as the vaccine rollout progresses, aiming for a full easing of restrictions by June 21. Non-essential retail will open no earlier than April 12, and indoor hospitality in pubs and restaurants not before May 17.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.