A dose of vaccine, illustration -

LENNART PREISS / AFP

Nearly 950,000 people have received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom, the Department of Health said on Thursday, bringing hope as contaminations reached a new record.

Two vaccines have been authorized in the country, with Pfizer / BioNTech being administered since December 8, while the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine will be used from next week.

The Health Ministry said on Thursday that 944,539 people had received a first dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.

"Now that we have cleared a second vaccine, we expect that number to increase rapidly in the coming months," Health Minister Matt Hancock said in a statement.

Stop the very rapid spread of the coronavirus

Vaccination is seen by the government as crucial to halt the very rapid spread of the disease, attributed to a variant of the virus, and lift the containment measures which concern a majority of the population.

In total, nearly 2.5 million people have tested positive for the new coronavirus, including 55,892 recorded on Thursday, unheard of since the start of the pandemic in the country.

The pandemic has killed more than 73,500 in the UK.

Extra beds in London

“We know that a difficult fight awaits us in the weeks and months to come, as we face a new variant of the disease which requires new vigilance,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in his New Year's greetings. But as the sun rises tomorrow in 2021, we are sure of these vaccines.

", he added.

Faced with the influx of patients in hospitals, the British health service (NHS) announced Thursday to reactivate the giant field hospital in London which had been created in an emergency in early April during the first epidemic wave.

"In anticipation of mounting pressures from the spread of the new variant, the NHS London has been asked to ensure that Nightingale Hospital in London is reactivated and ready to admit patients if necessary, and this process is ongoing." , said an NHS spokesperson.

He stressed that caregivers were already making “additional efforts” and that conventional hospitals were already opening additional beds in the capital.

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