UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated on Tuesday that consultants proceed to monitor the information on the B1.617.2 variant of COVID-19, first recognized in India, however there’s nothing conclusive but that signifies that it could drive Britain to deviate from its roadmap to elevate lockdown restrictions totally subsequent month. Johnson stated the federal government is retaining every little thing beneath very shut remark” following the emergence of the B1.617.2 variant of concern (VOC), which is feared to be on track to take over from the local B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the county of Kent, as the dominant coronavirus mutation in the country.
“We are looking at the epidemiology the whole time as it comes in and, at the moment, partly because we have built up such a wall of defences with the vaccination programme, I don’t see anything conclusive at the moment to say that we need to deviate from the roadmap, he said, in reference to the government’s scheduled June 21 timeline for a complete lifting of lockdown restrictions. “But we’ve got to be cautious and we are keeping everything under very close observation. We’ll know a lot more in a few days’ time,” the prime minister stated.
Johnson used a go to to a vaccination centre in London to reiterate a message for the British public to proceed to come ahead for his or her vaccination when they’re invited by the National Health Service (NHS) so as to defend in opposition to all variants of COVID-19 after vaccine hesitancy was flagged as one of many elements behind a number of the B1.617.2 VOC hotspots in north-west England. “The numbers (vaccinations) are extremely excessive. And I do know that… some individuals have been extra vaccine hesitant than others, however truly, throughout the entire of society, the numbers proceed to go up in each group. And that’s very, very encouraging. And I’d urge all people simply to make the plain level who’s eligible for a vaccine, whenever you get your name up, whenever you get the notification from the NHS, come and get your jab,” he said.
Johnson’s message follows a similar drive by senior ministers, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock informing Parliament on Monday that vaccines seem effective against the highly transmissible B1.617.2 VOC. There are now 2,323 confirmed cases of B1617.2 in the UK; 483 of these cases have been seen in Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen, where it is now the dominant strain. Cases there have doubled in the last week and are rising in all age groups, Hancock told the House of Commons in an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
In Blackburn, hospitalisations are stable, with eight people currently in hospital with COVID. In Bolton, 19 people are now in hospital with coronavirus, the majority of whom are eligible for a vaccine but have not yet had one. That shows that the new variant is not tending to penetrate into older vaccinated groups, and underlines again the importance of getting the jab especially, but not only, among the vulnerable age groups, he said. The minister also updated members of Parliament on early evidence which suggests that B1.617.2 is more transmissible than the B.1.1.7 so-called Kent variant.
We do not yet know to what extent it is more transmissible. While we do not have the complete picture of the impact of the vaccine, the early laboratory data from Oxford University corroborates the provisional evidence from the Royal Bolton Hospital and the initial observational data from India that vaccines are effective against the variant. This, of course, is reassuring, but the higher transmission poses a real risk, he added. According to latest data, more than 36.7 million people have had their first vaccine dose in the UK and more than 20.2 million have had their second. The NHS bookings for a vaccination are now open to all those aged 36 and over.
It follows Monday’s significant easing of lockdown rules, with people allowed to socialise indoors and travel around more freely after months. However, a planned review of long-term social distancing requirements for the end of this month is likely to be delayed as the spike in B1.617.2 VOC infections continues to be monitored.
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