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Covid: Coronavirus cases have ‘almost doubled’ in weeks – ‘protection is not guaranteed’

Coronavirus: 'Prepare for another surge in winter' says Nabarro

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“Covid-19 cases have almost doubled this month,” said Professor Kinane, adding that it has breached the 200,000 mark according to the ZOE Covid study app. “The Platinum Jubilee weekend and a series of mass-participation social events are likely to have fuelled an increase in Covid-19 infection numbers.” Professor Kinane also emphasised that the “higher transmissibility of the BA.4 and BA.5 strains have also played a part in this spike of cases”.

Moreover, there has been a waning in the immune protection from previous infections and vaccines.

The professor cautioned that the two strains have been shown to “overcome immunity provided by vaccines”.

However, this seemingly worrying development does not translate into more deaths for the foreseeable future.

“It is key to understand that immunity derived from vaccines wanes over time and protection is not guaranteed,” Professor Kinane noted.

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“The UK requires a baseline level of surveillance to track the virus’ behaviour.

“The ending of universal free testing, along with a large scale reduction in border control measures, has meant that the UK’s virus surveillance capabilities have been sharply reduced, opening up the country to additional risk.”

It’s for this reason that Professor Kinane advised that anybody experiencing Covid symptoms should take a lateral flow test, or a gold-standard PCR test, and then self-isolate if they test positive.

There is no doubt that the virus will continue to mutate over the autumn and winter.

And with this in mind, “it is quite likely that more new strains will emerge”.

Professor Kinane added: “It is important to understand that as long as there remains an unvaccinated chunk of the population, the virus will continue to evolve, and cases will rise.”

The expert encourages the public to “remain vigilant” and to “utilise sensible precautionary measures”.

Examples include: avoiding gatherings in crowded places, using face coverings, and maintaining social distancing as much as possible.

Professor Kinane believes that the UK is unlikely to experience another full-blown lockdown this winter.

“The wide uptake of the booster vaccination programme, and discussions around the offer of a further jab in the autumn, should ideally prevent severe infections seen earlier in the pandemic,” he explained.

“The UK’s population is also better equipped immunologically to counter Covid-19 infections.

“And it is crucial that if a further vaccination dose is offered, take-up should be swift and across the board as seen during the booster programme at the end of 2021.”

Professor Kinane believes that the UK is unlikely to experience another full-blown lockdown this winter.

“The wide uptake of the booster vaccination programme, and discussions around the offer of a further jab in the autumn, should ideally prevent severe infections seen earlier in the pandemic,” he explained.

“The UK’s population is also better equipped immunologically to counter Covid-19 infections.

“And it is crucial that if a further vaccination dose is offered, take-up should be swift and across the board as seen during the booster programme at the end of 2021.”

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  • Posted on July 3, 2022