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In England, almost all restrictions were lifted on July 19. It happened at a time when the country had the most new infections in the world. The head doctor warned of trouble, scientists spoke of a “dangerous and unethical experiment”. A month has just passed since then. And while vaccines have been found to work, reopening comes at a price. What lesson should other countries learn from what happened in the UK?
- On July 19, the “day of freedom” awaited by the British has come – the transition to the final stage of recovery from the lockdown and the lifting of almost all restrictions
- The reopening has not led to even greater increases in the number of infected people, but rather to decreases
- Number of hospitalizations in the UK Britain is growing, although it is lower than it used to be. This is the effect of vaccination against COVID-19
- What is particularly worrying for experts is the near return of children to school
- What lesson should all countries learn while observing what is happening in the UK? Expert: Vaccines are not the complete solution to the problem
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
On July 19, the “day of freedom” awaited by the English came true. On that day, the country began the final stage of its recovery from lockdown, which in practice meant lifting almost all restrictions and returning to relative normality. On that day, face masks were no longer compulsory (with the exception of a few specific locations, such as airports or hospitals), and restrictions on clubs, concerts, theaters and sports events were lifted. These are just some of the changes made.
This step was taken at a time when Great Britain was experiencing the third wave of the epidemic, and the number of new infections was growing, reaching the highest daily rates in the world (e.g. on July 17 there were over 54 infections – according to worldometers.info). Fortunately, these numbers did not translate into an increase in deaths, but the UK’s chief physician, prof. Chris Whitty warned: “We shouldn’t underestimate the fact that we can get into trouble again surprisingly quickly.
In early July, The Lancet published a letter from over 100 scientists and doctors. Scholars have written outright that the decision to lift the restrictions is a “dangerous and unethical experiment” and that it is premature.
The British government, however, was determined and the “day of freedom” became a fact. Prime Minister Johnson emphasized that despite the spread of the Delta variant, summer is the best time to lift restrictions and return to normal life. If we don’t do it now, we’ll be opening up in the fall and winter months when the virus has the advantage of cold weather. We will lose a valuable firewall that we get with school holidays. If we don’t do it now, we have to ask ourselves when are we going to do it? This is the right time, said Boris Johnson, emphasizing that the introduction of restrictions despite the growing number of cases is possible thanks to the success of the coronavirus vaccination program (more in the article: The third wave is rising and the authorities are lifting restrictions. Johnson: this is the right time).
The effect of lifting restrictions. «Reopening has a price»
A month has recently passed since most of the restrictions were lifted. “It’s become clear that while vaccination works, reopening comes at a price,” notes CNN. A Kit Yates, co-director of the Center for Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath, adds that the reopening is “far from being an unconditional success.”
Epidemiologists expected that lifting epidemic restrictions would lead to an increase in the number of people infected with the coronavirus – “it didn’t happen, at least not right away,” notes CNN. Although the number of new infections just before the restrictions were lifted was very worrying, after the restrictions were lifted, it began to decline unexpectedly, which was probably due to the fact that contacts between people did not grow as fast as some had predicted. Additionally, on July 16, school holidays began in England. Unfortunately, the last two weeks have shown an increase in new infections. While it is insignificant, Christina Pagel, director of Clinical Operations Research at University College London, finds it worrying. As the expert emphasizes, July and August are months when it should be easier to keep the infection level low.
Source: https://covid19.who.int/region/euro/country/gb
The death toll is much lower than at the peak of the pandemic, when as many as 1,3 died every day. people (currently the numbers oscillate around a hundred). Kit Yates, however, believes she is still unnecessarily tall. AND with around 800 COVID-19 patients entering hospitals each day, the UK healthcare system is again under pressure, failing to provide adequate emergency care.
– It is not possible to carry out all the routine treatment that is necessary and can save lives – emphasizes the specialist. NHS Providers data shows that while in February 2020 there were 4,4 million people waiting for routine hospital treatment, in July 2021 there were as many as 5,5 million.
Vaccinations against COVID-19. Details are key
It is worth noting that although the number of hospitalizations in the UK is increasing, it is still lower than it used to be. This is definitely the effect of vaccination against COVID-19. – In January, before the immunization program really took off, we may have seen more than 10 percent. hospitalized cases. Now that number has dropped to 2-3 percent. Vaccines make a huge difference, says Kit Yates.
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However, while the overall vaccination rate is important, the details are key. At least the first dose was taken by over 70 percent. of the population, after the full cycle is over 61 percent. Importantly, however, the percentage of vaccinated among the elderly, and therefore the most vulnerable to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, is high in the UK. – We have 90 to 95 percent fully vaccinated. people aged 50+, notes Christina Pagel. – It makes a really big difference. We have many hospitalizations, but not as many as we could possibly have.
Lifting restrictions in Great Britain. An important lesson for everyone
What is particularly worrying for experts is the imminent return of children to school and the fact that most of them will not be vaccinated against COVID-19. The UK Medicines Regulatory Authority (MHRA, Office for Registration of Medicinal Products and Medical Devices) has approved Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for children and adolescents aged 12+. As CNN points out, so far, however, only teens who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 or live with COVID-16 because of other medical conditions have been able to get vaccinated. Importantly, from this week on, adolescents aged 17 and XNUMX are to be vaccinated.
“We will see a lot of students meeting in classrooms with little or no precautionary measures,” Kit Yates predicts. – Then we should expect a further increase in transmission, and this will inevitably lead to more cases, more hospitalizations and deaths – he warns. The so-called long tail covid. 34 people suffer from these complications after contracting the coronavirus infection. children aged 17 and younger, in 7 thousand symptoms have been present for over a year.
– Every other high-income country does at least one of three things – either vaccinate youth, or make schools compulsory to wear face masks and keep distances (invest in ventilation), or keep broadcasting low in the community. Most of them do two of these things. We don’t do any of them Christina Pagel notes.
What lesson can we learn from the UK experience described above? Kit Yates comments on the situation very aptly. “I would like other countries to learn one lesson from the re-opening of the UK: vaccines are not the complete solution to the problem,” the expert notes. – They must be supported by wearing masks, walking distance, adequate room ventilation, a rapid testing and isolation system.
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