All Covid indicators in the UK seem to be heading in the wrong direction. They've been there for some time. The number of cases is increasing; hospitals are experiencing increased pressure from the rising numbers of Covid patients. Daily death tolls are also on the rise. Vaccination delivery is also slowing down.
Monday saw nearly 50,000 cases. We have seen greater numbers only 16 days into the pandemic. On Wednesday we saw similar numbers. On Wednesday, we saw similar numbers. Our seven-day average is over 45,000 cases per day and the ONS estimates one in sixty people have been infected since January. Germany, for comparison, is experiencing 165 cases per million people each day. The figure in France is only 71 and Spain, 35. For the UK, it is higher than 650 per Million.
Unmitigated transmission at schools is a major reason for the continued increase in cases since mid September. Secondary school students have seen an unprecedented rise in cases. Recent revelations of false negative testing at Wolverhampton's Immensa laboratory have also had an impact on these numbers. The UK's epidemic is now in the center of the south-west region, which was the most affected by the scandal. It appeared that this region was bucking the national trend with artificially low cases rates at the Immensa laboratory in Wolverhampton. It is not surprising that thousands of people were told they aren't infected and can go about their normal lives. This will result in tens to thousands of unneeded illnesses, increasing hospital pressure and ultimately costing lives.
The Immensa scandal will make the already high national death rate even higher. We are currently experiencing more than 130 deaths per day. Tuesday's 223 report was the highest since March 9th. Our death rate of 1.8 per million is twice that of Germany, and three times that in France and Spain. These shocking death statistics for the UK are made more alarming by the fact that the current figures reflect cases rates from three weeks ago. We were receiving an average of 35,000.00 cases per day three weeks ago. The short-term trend in death rates is only one direction.
Our poor Covid performance is the most disappointing aspect. It could have been much better with a lot less effort. R hovers just above 1. It wouldn't have taken much to reduce the transmission number below one and reverse our upwards trend. Comparing our continental neighbors makes us see the alternative reality that we could have lived in if we had stopped using masks indoors, vaccinated our children in the summer and improved ventilation in our schools, workplaces, and homes.
In the UK, however, masks that do not pose an economic threat and have a public health benefit were removed because of ideological reasons. For weeks, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation argued against vaccinating children aged 12-15 years, despite proving that there was an overall benefit to vaccines for this age group. However, it did not publish these calculations.
To protect secondary school students against this disease, it took the intervention by the UK's chief medical officers. The rollout of the vaccines has been slow even though it was approved by the UK's chief medical officers. Since the announcement of the programme, only 17% have been vaccinated in England since then. This is more than a month after it was launched. We should have been implementing mitigations at schools, instead of relying on vaccination. Children would have been safer if they had access to ventilation, masks, and local contract tracing. The 300,000 CO2 monitors promised by the government were not a mitigation, but a first step in determining if there is a problem. It was revealed that only 2% had received the promised monitors last week. The core problem is not being addressed by filters and mechanical ventilation. Our children, who suffered and gave so much during the pandemic have been left to deal with Covid alone.
Another factor that could explain some of the differences between the UK's neighbours in Europe is the vaccination of adults. The UK was truly world-leading in vaccination last spring. It delivered jabs quicker than any other country. However, our vaccination coverage has fallen behind that of many EU countries since last summer. Five million people in the UK are still not vaccinated. The quality of protection is affected by the vaccine used. AstraZeneca was given to the most vulnerable members of our society. It provides less protection and reduces transmission than the mRNA vaccinations that were the mainstay of many parts of mainland Europe.
To make matters worse, recent scientific consensus suggests that vaccine-mediated immunity deteriorates over time. Six months after our peak vaccination rate, and as we head into winter, it's clear that the rapid rollout of vaccines, which was so effective early in the process, is now to our disadvantage. Although the booster program was intended to address the problem, it has not been able to keep up with the rapid first- and second-doses that we gave last spring. People are becoming more vulnerable six months after their first dose and falling steadily. Boosters are essential for protecting the most vulnerable in a country that uses a vaccine-only strategy.
The government should have learned one thing from its failures in handling the pandemic: It is better to take decisive action early than waiting and watching. It is time to think about plan B. In order to manage the situation in a pain-free way, we can introduce masks, vaccination passes, and increase working from home. However, it is important to activate plan B immediately. If we don't, we might need to move straight to plan A.
