Ministers are being asked to disclose what contingency plans they have in place for a future Covid variant, which evades vaccines. This is amid warnings by scientific advisors that such an outcome could delay the fight against the pandemic by a year.
Recent papers by the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies have suggested that a variant of the virus that can evade vaccines may be a real possibility. Sage supported continued research on vaccines that reduce infection, transmission and are more effective than current jabs. He also supported the creation of more vaccine production facilities in the UK. Lab-based studies were also encouraged to predict the evolution of variants.
Prominent scientists have highlighted the dangers of the new variant, which is being seen as one of the major threats that could escalate the crisis. Professor Graham Medley, a Sage member and leader of the Covid modelling group of the government, stated that it was something planners and scientists must take seriously because it could cause us to go back a long distance.
He said that it is similar to the planning required between pandemics. A new variant that could overcome immunity significantly would be basically a new virus. We know that vaccines can be made against this virus quickly, which is a plus. We would likely be in the same position as a year ago depending on how strong our current immunity was against a new variant. It is hoped that evolution will be slow so that we don't get back to the same situation as last year. This depends on how much impact current immunity has against a new variant.
He said that it is unlikely that a new virus will be able to overcome all previous immunity or vaccines. At the very least, some immunity should be maintained for severe outcomes like death or hospitalisation. Most likely, we would be able update current vaccines to include this strain.
However, this would take many months. We might also need to reimpose restrictions in the event of a serious public health threat. The amount of restrictions would depend on how severe the virus is likely to evade vaccines.
This comes as a result of a further relaxation in restrictions in England, Monday. Fully vaccinated adults and children under 18 will no longer have to self-isolate legally if they come in close contact with anyone with Covid. They will be advised to have a PCR test, but they are not required to do so. Daily Covid cases hover around the 30,000 mark. On 13 August, the latest figures showed that another 32,700 cases of Daily Covid had been confirmed positive. Another 100 deaths were also reported.
All 16- and 17 year-olds living in England will receive a first dose vaccine in the next week. This will provide some protection until September, when schools resume. Sajid Javid, Health Secretary, urged older teens not to delay. He advised that you get your vaccinations as soon as possible to ensure we can live safely with the virus.
Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's former senior advisor, has called for the government to publish a variant vaccine contingency plan. He suggested that MPs explore options to force ministers to do this. A scientist spoke on condition of anonymity to say that they would love to see the publication the national risk assessment for Covid-19 contingency planning.
Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat health spokesperson) is supporting the move. She stated that it is crucial that people trust Boris Johnson's Covid strategy, and believe he will not repeat the mistakes of the past 18 months. The government has lost trust by refusing to be self-isolated, breaking their own rules, and making mistakes that could have been fatal, she said. Transparency is the only way for that trust to be restored.
Stephen Reicher, a professor of psychology at University of St Andrews said that it makes sense to be ready. Scotland has established a standing pandemics committee. It will be fascinating to see what happens at the UK level.
Long-term, we need to conduct a systematic inquiry into the causes and consequences of what happened (and right), so that we are ready for any future events. The pandemic is like a meal of barium that has exposed many weaknesses in our society. They are too obvious to ignore. This was a wake-up call. Let's not forget to press the snooze key.
Sources within the government said that Public Health England and other agencies were closely monitoring the situation using rapid surveillance and genetic sequencing to identify the virus. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care stated that the vaccine programme had created a wall of defense.
We are committed to protecting progress in the vaccine rollout. Our world-leading genomics capabilities are at forefront of global efforts for variant prevention. Over half a million genome-sequenced samples have been sequenced, they stated.
Official statistics show that the UK has recorded 93 new Covid-related death and 29520 new Covid-related cases yesterday. Data from Public Health England indicates that two doses Covid-19 vaccines are more effective than 90% against hospitalizations from the Delta variant of the virus, which is the predominant strain in the UK.
