UK delays lifting of lockdown as Delta variant of coronavirus wreaks havoc across the country, increasing cases and hospitalizations.
In a recent briefing, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a four-week delay to the easing of lockdown restrictions in England. The decision comes as a result of rising COVID-19 cases across the country. On Wednesday, 16th June, the country recorded more than 9,000 new; the highest number of daily cases since February. The increase in cases and hospitalizations is being blamed on the new Delta variant spreading across the UK.
Now is the time to ease off the accelerator because by being cautious now we have the chance – in the next four weeks – to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions of more people.
Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister
The Delta coronavirus variant, previously known as the Indian variant, accounts for 90% of all new cases in the UK. Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) labelled it as a variant of global concern. According to health officials, the variant the hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have risen by 50% in the UK. Moreover, it has replaced the Alpha variant, previously dominant in the country.
Recently, Public Health England (PHE) stated the new variant as 60% more transmissible in households as compared to the Alpha variant. Additionally, the variant has shown to cause an increased risk of hospitalizations and a more severe infection.
What About the Vaccines?
In a recent study published in the Lancet, Public Health Scotland revealed a lower vaccine effectiveness against the Delta variant.
The team of researchers gathered data from 1 April to 6 June. The nationwide study investigated the risk of hospitalizations and vaccine effectiveness against the new variant. They compared the effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Although both vaccines were effective at reducing hospitalizations and severe infection in those with the Delta variant, the numbers were comparatively lower than those seen against the Alpha variant. In comparison to the Alpha variant, the Delta variant demonstrated a certain amount of resistance against vaccines.
Two weeks after the second dose, vaccine effectiveness for the Pfizer vaccine fell from 92% against the Alpha variant to 79% against the Delta variant. Moreover, the Oxford vaccine demonstrated a vaccine efficacy of 73% against the Alpha variant and 60% against the newer one. However, the results were much lower after a single shot of the vaccine.
Therefore, doctors are urging people to get fully vaccinated. Although the vaccine efficacy is lower, the vaccines still offer a high level of protection from death and hospitalizations.
If there is a delay, I think that will give us the opportunity to widen coverage, which is incredibly important for those who at the moment have only got one dose. It will give the opportunity to increase the proportion of the population with two doses, and then what we want is a period of time where people can actually maximise their immune response
Aziz Sheikh, a senior author
Reference:
Sheikh, A., McMenamin, J., Taylor, B., & Robertson, C. (2021). SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC in Scotland: demographics, risk of hospital admission, and vaccine effectiveness. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(21)01358-1
