A scientist advising the UK government has warned that early lifting of lockdown measures could see a resurgence of coronavirus disease cases leading to a return to restrictions, despite the country’s rapid vaccination program.
Prof. Steven Riley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), said vaccines did not mean social controls should end, adding “no vaccine is perfect.”
The Biden administration said it had secured 200 million more doses of coronavirus vaccines, but President Biden warned that logistical hurdles would most likely mean that many Americans will still not have been vaccinated by the end of the summer. https://t.co/NhExFmJSyN
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Riley told BBC Radio 4: “We are certainly going to be in the situation where we can allow more infection in the community, but there is a limit.
“In the short term, if we were to allow a very large wave of infection, that wave will find all the people who couldn’t have the vaccine for very good reason (and) those people who had the vaccine but unfortunately it didn’t give them the protection they need,” he added.
“I think scientists are genuinely worried. We don’t want to show that it is an excellent (but) not perfect vaccine by having another large wave in the UK,” Riley said.
Beating the RDIF’s own forecast, 26, not 25, nations have become part of the #SputnikV family by the end of this week. The world needs more safe and effective vaccines. At the #SputnikV team we are looking forward to welcoming new family members soon. pic.twitter.com/Th7Y0rOLZW
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“If for some reason we were to choose to just pretend it (coronavirus) wasn’t here any more, then there is the potential to go back to a wave that is a similar size to the one that we are in now.”
This article has been adapted from its original source.
