Last checked at 
(Adds response from UK Health Department)
By Kanishka Singh
Dec 29 (Reuters) - Britain must vaccinate two million people
a week to avoid a third wave of the coronavirus outbreak, a
study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
(LSHTM) has concluded.
The UK has had more than 71,000 deaths from the coronavirus
and over 2.3 million cases of COVID-19 infections as of late
Monday, according to a Reuters tally.
"The most stringent intervention scenario with tier 4
(restrictions) England-wide and schools closed during January
and 2 million individuals vaccinated per week, is the only
scenario we considered which reduces peak ICU (intensive care)
burden below the levels seen during the first wave", the study
said.
"In the absence of substantial vaccine roll-out, cases,
hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths in 2021 may exceed
those in 2020."
An accelerated uptake of two million vaccinated per week "is
predicted to have a much more substantial impact", it added https://bit.ly/3o9l2MJ.
The study has yet to be peer-reviewed.
Responding to the study, a UK Health Department spokesman
told Reuters that "over the coming weeks and months the rate of
vaccination will increase as millions more doses become
available and the programme continues to expand."
The British government has said it has secured early access
to 357 million vaccines doses through agreements with several
developers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his scientific advisers
have said a variant of the coronavirus, which could be up to 70%
more transmissible, is spreading rapidly in Britain, although it
is not thought to be more deadly or to cause more serious
illness.
That prompted tight social mixing restriction measures for
London and southeast England, while plans to ease curbs over
Christmas across the nation were dramatically scaled back or
scrapped altogether.
Media reports over the weekend said Britain will roll out
the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from Jan. 4, with
approval by the country's medical regulator expected within
days.
Earlier this month, Britain became the first country in the
world to roll out the vaccine made by Pfizer and
BioNTech.
The British government said on Thursday that 600,000 people
had received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19
vaccine.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael
Perry and Giles Elgood)
