Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures whereas visiting St Thomas Hospital to obtain his COVID-19 coronavirus booster vaccination, in London, Britain December 2, 2021.
Paul Edwards | Reuters
LONDON — It’s been criticized by many for its reluctance to introduce extra Covid-19 restrictions within the face of the omicron variant, however the U.Ok. may very well be one of many first international locations to emerge from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in accordance with one main scientist.
Speaking of varied responses to Covid, and significantly the newest wave of instances brought on by the virulent omicron variant, main public well being official Professor David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine mentioned that “the U.Ok is the closest to any nation in being out of the pandemic if it is not already out of the pandemic and having the illness as endemic.”
“Countries at the moment are seeing inhabitants immunity construct up … and that appears to be conserving the virus at bay, not inflicting severe sickness or demise in international locations the place inhabitants immunity is excessive.”
Heymann, talking at a web based seminar hosted by assume tank Chatham House on Monday, cited the newest figures from the U.Ok.’s statistics authority on immunity that estimated that 95% of the inhabitants in England have antibodies towards an infection, both by vaccination or pure an infection. The majority of these in intensive care items now, Heymann added, had been the unvaccinated.
The U.Ok. authorities was criticized final month for refusing to usher in extra restrictions on social mixing forward of Christmas because the omicron variant, first found in South Africa in late November, unfold quickly. The U.Ok. was one of many first international locations to be hit exhausting by the extremely infectious pressure.
Omicron was dubbed as “of concern” by the World Health Organization given the excessive variety of mutations of the pressure and fears it may undermine Covid vaccines.
We now know that omicron is much extra infectious than earlier variants of the virus, together with the delta variant, however a rising variety of research and real-world information present that it’s inflicting much less extreme sickness, though this may be attributable to widespread vaccination campaigns.
Covid vaccination gives excessive ranges of safety towards extreme sickness, hospitalization and demise and vaccine makers say early research have proven that booster photographs considerably restore safety towards the omicron variant.
The U.Ok. authorities has needed to maintain its nerve in current weeks by not introducing new restrictions on the general public, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson telling the British public that they must “be taught to dwell with the virus” final 12 months.
The authorities has maintained this stance, regardless of fellow European international locations introducing far stricter guidelines on socializing and journey within the final month (and a few introducing partial or full lockdowns).
There are glimpses of sunshine on the finish of the tunnel, nevertheless, with rising indicators that the height of the omicron wave of infections is proving to be shorter and sharper than these seen with earlier variants. The day by day variety of instances being reported by the U.Ok. is steadily falling though they nonetheless stay at excessive ranges; on Tuesday, over 120,000 instances had been recorded.
Hospitals within the U.Ok. and round Europe are working at very excessive ranges of capability though hospitalizations stay at decrease ranges than in earlier waves of the pandemic when vaccine protection was decrease.
Global well being officers warning that it is too early to say the pandemic has entered an “endemic” part, the place there are persistent however low-to-moderate ranges of Covid in any given inhabitants in future however the virus isn’t inflicting extreme ranges of an infection or spreading from nation to nation (which might make it a pandemic once more).
The U.Ok.’s Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi advised the BBC Sunday that the nation was on the street “from pandemic to endemic” as the federal government mentioned it may cut back the interval of self-isolation for vaccinated individuals who check constructive for Covid from seven days to 5 (as with the newest steerage within the U.S.) to alleviate workers absences within the office and the huge financial disruption brought on by Covid.