TechDigits

Tech news
Friday, Jun 09, 2023

Sajid Javid hits out at unvaccinated for ‘taking up hospital beds’

Sajid Javid hits out at unvaccinated for ‘taking up hospital beds’

Minister says the 10% of population unjabbed ‘must think about the damage they are doing to society’

The UK health secretary has criticised people who have chosen not to be vaccinated against coronavirus as they “take up hospital beds” that could be used for patients in need.

Sajid Javid said the unvaccinated – about 5 million people or 10% of the eligible population – were having a damaging impact on society and creating extra pressure on the health system.

“They must really think about the damage they are doing to society,” Javid told Sky News on Sunday. “They take up hospital beds that could have been used for someone with maybe a heart problem, or maybe someone who is waiting for elective surgery.”

“But instead of protecting themselves and protecting the community they choose not to get vaccinated,” he added.


About nine out of 10 of those needing the most care in hospital are unvaccinated.

Javid’s comments came after Prof Stephen Powis, the medical director of NHS England, said the health service was on a “war footing”, with plans being developed to treat 15% of Covid patients at home, with remote monitoring of their oxygen levels.

The strategy would allow patients “the same care they would [receive] in hospital but from the comfort of their own home”, Powis told the Sunday Times. “This is better for patients, it is better for their families and it is better for the NHS, as it limited the spread of the virus, which we know at the minute is rising exponentially.”

Powis added that plans for “care hotels”, in which the NHS would pay for patients to be looked after by live-in carers, were being drawn up, with three hotels in southern England already operating. An army of 20,000 NHS reservists – former doctors, nurses and non-clinical staff – may be called on to solidify services.

Javid urged the unvaccinated to come forward and get jabbed. “They are really having a damaging impact and I just can’t stress enough, please do come forward and get vaccinated,” he said.

Javid on Sunday did not rule out the possibility of further Covid restrictions. He said ministers were discussing Covid data “almost on an hourly basis” with advisers.

Scotland is ahead of other UK nations in vaccinating its population, with 9% of eligible people still unvaccinated, compared with 10% in Wales, 11% in England and 14% in Northern Ireland.

Out of 57.5 million over-12s in the UK eligible for the vaccine, 51.1 million had received one jab (89%) while 6.4 million (11%) had not, according to data from the UK’s health agencies for vaccinations delivered up to 5 December.

The UK broke its record daily Covid case tally three days in a row this week, with cases jumping above 90,000 on Friday. On Sunday, the total number of Omicron cases detected surged to more than 37,000.

As of 16 December, there were 7,611 people in UK hospitals with Covid and 875 occupying ventilation beds, according to government data.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
Close
0:00
0:00
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
The G-7 aims to make global crypto regulations tougher
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
A brief banking situation report
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
Charlie Munger, calls for a ban on cryptocurrencies in the US, following China's lead
First generation unopened iPhone set to fetch more than $50,000 at auction.
Almost 30% of professionals say they've tried ChatGPT at work
Interpol seeks woman who ran elaborate exam cheating scam in Singapore
What is ChatGPT?
Tesla reported record profits and record revenues for 2022
Microsoft is finalising plans to become the latest technology giant to reduce its workforce during a global economic slowdown
Tesla slashes prices globally by as much as 20 percent
After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names
FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
U.S. Moves to Seize Robinhood Shares, Silvergate Accounts Tied to FTX
Coinbase to Pay $100 Million in Settlement With New York Regulator
×