by Oui
Thu Oct 21st, 2021 at 02:43:51 PM EST
The unwise decision by Downing Street #10 on COVID-19 policy is biting all with double vaccinations in the a$$ ... offering the domestic brand of vaccine AstraZeneca with a delayed second AZ jab after 12 weeks has left the population vulnerable. The double vaccine jab offers as low as 33% protection to the Delta variant and the newer mutations. The call for early third booster shots is heard in Parliament.
Furthermore, the UK is far behind the EU states for total vaccinations per capita.
What is driving the rise in UK Covid cases? | The Guardian |
One consequence of its initial lead is that the UK is now one of the first countries to witness the impact of waning immunity from those early vaccinations. An analysis by Public Health England presented to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) in September found protection against symptomatic Delta infections started to wane from about 10 weeks for both AstraZeneca (which the UK relied heavily on) and Pfizer vaccines. Beyond five months, protection from two shots of AstraZeneca or Pfizer fell to a little over 50% and 70% respectively.
According to the latest variant technical briefing from the UK Health Security Agency, "a Delta sublineage newly designated as AY.4.2 is noted to be expanding in England", with the body noting it is being monitored and assessed.
The agency added that in the week beginning 27 September , the last week for which complete sequencing data was available, AY4.2 accounted for about 6% of sequenced coronavirus cases and is "on an increasing trajectory".
The decision to restart school without mitigating measures will effect the spread from classrooms to the family home and beyond. All is predictable, the question asked is this policy willingly and on purpose. Herd immunity by any means ... shame!
Labour demands booster jabs surge to protect
School pupils should close the gap to full herd immunity
Deep within the UK's shocking Covid data, there may be reasons for optimism
It is hard to be upbeat about the latest numbers. The government's Covid dashboard is awash with red and upward-pointing arrows. New cases have climbed 17% on the week. Hospital admissions are up 11% and deaths have increased by 21%. This is not where we wanted to be nearly two years into the pandemic - and 10 months into the most successful mass vaccination campaign in the history of the NHS.
So is this what we have to get used to? Nearly 1,000 hospital admissions a day, and nearly 1,000 deaths a week?
With so many adults well protected after vaccination, infection, or both, the primary driver for the UK epidemic is the infection rate among schoolchildren. Data from the Office for National Statistics show that cases soared in secondary schools when they reopened after the summer. This was bound to happen: in England at least, protective measures in schools were minimal; the decision to vaccinate healthy children came later than elsewhere, and the process has been difficult and slow.
The ONS estimates that for the week ending 9 October, 8.1% of children in school years 7 to 11 would have tested positive for coronavirus. This equates to about 5% becoming infected every week and adding to the pool of the immune. Before schools went back after the summer, a substantial minority of children in London may have had antibodies to the virus. With natural infections building on that immunity for weeks, cases may soon start to fall. And since schoolchildren are seeding infections into the community, national cases may follow suit.
Suffering from Long COVID
Long COVID Alliance launched to help Coronavirus long haulers
The Solve ME/CFS Initiative is one of the founders of the Long COVID Alliance. The organization is dedicated to research, advocacy, and patient support for myalgic encephalomyelitis, which was previously called chronic fatigue syndrome.
Despite pre-flight testing ...
Genomic Evidence of In-Flight Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Despite Predeparture Testing | CDC - March 2021 |
Hospitality trade fears going under if UK imposes new Covid ’plan C' during Christmas
Still Clusters Low Vaccination Rate in Holland
New Delta variant also found in The Netherlands
