LONDON. UK Health Minister Sajid Javid has announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19, with mild symptoms. He was also grateful that he had received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Citing Reuters on Sunday (18/7), Javid, who has been health minister for three weeks, has backed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to lift all coronavirus restrictions from Monday (19/7), despite a spike in new cases of Covid-19. 19 triggered by the more contagious Delta variant.
"This pie I tested positive for Covid," Javid said in a tweet.
He added that he first performed a rapid lateral flow test, and then the positive result was also confirmed in a PCR test, which needs to be processed in a laboratory.
"My positive results have now been confirmed by a PCR test, so I will continue to isolate and work from home."
Read also: UK offers Covid-19 vaccination for adults, ahead of end of restrictions
In a tweet on March 17 Javid said he had received the first shot of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, and posted a photo of him getting the second dose on May 16.
Vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, but fully vaccinated people are less likely to become seriously ill with Covid-19 even if they test positive.
Real-world analysis published by Public Health England has found that two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are 60% effective against symptomatic disease of the Delta variant and 92% effective against hospitalization.
The UK is facing a new wave of Covid-19 cases, but Johnson and Javid claim the vaccine program has largely cut the link between COVID-19 cases and deaths, though Johnson said the country had to adjust to the prospect of more deaths. from Covid.
The UK has the seventh-highest Covid-19 death toll in the world, and has vaccinated two-thirds of adults, despite not vaccinating children.
Some scientists have warned that the government's reopening plans for the UK are dangerous given the large number of people who remain unvaccinated and the fact that the vaccine is not 100% effective.