With 4,000 to 6,000 Covid-19 cases per day over the past 10 days, the number of nCoV infections in the UK is almost as high as March levels. The Delta variant, first detected in India, spreads more quickly and
Deepti Gurdasani, an epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London, said: `The UK strategy relies solely on vaccines. We have let in a variant that is more transmissible and can evade immunity,` she said.
On the other hand, last year, the UK decided to postpone the second dose of the vaccine to give the first dose to as many people as possible.
Last week, health officials said there was strong evidence that vaccines were less effective with the new variant, most evident in people who had just received one dose.
Preliminary data in Bolton, a Covid-19 hotspot in Northwest England, shows that most people hospitalized with the Delta variant have not been vaccinated.
A person received the AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK on March 29.
After a strict blockade throughout the winter, the British government began to relax regulations in March, planning to lift all restrictions on June 21.
Some people argue that the economic cost of delaying reopening for a few weeks is still much smaller than the damage that the Delta variant will cause (if it spreads massively before the country has herd immunity).
`These are judgments based on uncertain data. We face a difficult decision before June 21, but that decision will become easier and possible thanks to the vaccination program
Delaying the above opening time will help many people have more time to get a second dose of vaccine.
As of June 8, 879 people were hospitalized due to Covid-19, higher than 730 people in May. Experts say this epidemic is not as dire as in December and January. However, they are worried.
Other experts like Gurdasani fear that without efforts to reduce Covid-19 cases to near zero, future variants will hinder plans to lift restrictions.
`We need to control the pandemic if we want to return to normal life. Otherwise, we will be stuck with Covid-19 for many years. We need to move from living with the virus to eliminating the virus with a vaccine program.`
Britain is not alone in encouraging people to get two doses of the vaccine.
`If you are young and have not been vaccinated, now is the time to do it. Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and those you love,` Mr. Biden wrote on Twitter.
British scientists predict that, even with preventive measures, the Delta variant will continue to spread domestically and worldwide.
In the US, the Delta variant currently accounts for more than 6% of infections, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a press conference on June 8.