Chinanews, October 26, a comprehensive report, in the past four months, the United Kingdom has conducted a huge epidemiological "experiment": Although the daily infection rate is still high, the government has cancelled almost all new crown epidemics. Restrictive measures.
The British government believes that it is reasonable to do so because the rapid introduction of vaccines has weakened the link between infection and severe illness.
However, with the increase in confirmed cases, hospital admissions and deaths, the role of vaccines has begun to weaken, and with winter approaching, the UK's strategy of "coexisting with the virus" is facing the most severe test.
The picture shows the local time July 19, 2021, London, England, England ushered in the "Unblocking Day", people partying in the nightclub.
Highly confirmed cases
Britain's fight against the epidemic has been hit hard!
In recent days, the number of daily diagnoses in the UK has continued to rise, with 52009 new cases added in a single day on October 21.
Official figures also show that a total of 327,537 cases were diagnosed within 7 days from October 15 to October 21.
During the same period, the number of hospital admissions increased by 15.4% to 959; 115 people died of the new crown virus, an increase of nearly 11%.
"Everything is hitting us at the same time," said Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, who has been leading a major study on COVID-19 symptoms. "My view is that we are in a no-man's land. ."
The New York Times pointed out that for a country that thought it had passed the worst period of the epidemic, the sudden rise of the epidemic was a heavy blow.
The picture shows people sitting outside the bar and drinking.
No masks, relaxation of restrictions
British health agencies under pressure
The reason is that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) pointed out that compared with European countries such as Germany, France, Spain or Italy, the British have a more relaxed and free attitude towards wearing masks.
The New York Times also stated that the British are enjoying a return to normal life. They are crowded with nightclubs, theaters and stadiums-but there are very few people wearing masks, which is invisible in other European countries.
The United States and other European countries have been paying attention to this laissez-faire approach as a possible model for getting rid of the epidemic.
The report pointed out that although the British government still recommends wearing masks in crowded places, legislators have strengthened the impression that life has returned to normal by abandoning masks.
At the Conservative Party meeting earlier this month, almost no one wore a mask.
It was not until Health Secretary Javid was questioned on this issue that some of his colleagues did not wear masks the next day.
But in London’s subways and other public places, masks are becoming rarer.
But now, the British National Health Service has felt the pressure, and because of fears of a vicious flu season, the hospital may face the prospect of a double whammy this winter.
The picture shows the flow of people on Oxford Street, the commercial center of London.
Photo by Zhang Mengqi issued by China News Agency
Vaccination slows down and its effectiveness diminishes?
The British government calls for vaccination to intensify injections
On the other hand, although the United Kingdom started to administer vaccines very early, the rate of popularization of vaccines has slowed down in recent months.
In the first two weeks of October, the proportion of people over the age of 12 who had received at least one dose of the vaccine in the UK barely increased.
There is also evidence that more people who have been vaccinated are getting infected, which is different from the situation a few weeks ago, when most of the infections occurred among students.
The government sent students back to school in September. They were basically not vaccinated and were not required to wear masks.
"This problem used to be mainly limited to students, but now it has affected the previous generations." Specter said.
"Infected people include young people who have not been vaccinated, and elderly people who have been vaccinated."
He said that this mainly reflects the weakening of the vaccine's effectiveness. The UK's vaccine was launched earlier than most other major countries and therefore expired earlier.
Most elderly people were vaccinated six months ago or earlier.
The British government recently reiterated that “we encourage those who are eligible for additional booster doses to administer the third dose as soon as possible to ensure that they receive important enhanced protection before entering winter.”
"Put all the eggs in the vaccine basket"?
The British government refuses to re-impose restrictions
However, so far, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected calls to re-implement restrictions such as the mandatory wearing of masks indoors, as well as new measures, such as the use of vaccine passports during mass gatherings. France and other European countries have already Take this approach.
David King, former chief scientific adviser to the government, said, "What the British government does is just stand by and say,'We can't control it, so let it spread.'"
As he and other experts called for tougher measures, many expected Johnson to succumb soon.
This means that in some cases it will be mandatory to wear masks, urge people to work from home as much as possible, and require them to show proof of vaccination before they can enter nightclubs and participate in other public gatherings.
Critics say this fits a familiar pattern.
Gabriel Scully, a visiting professor of public health at the University of Bristol and former regional director of public health, said: "The government has done the same thing as it always has: hesitation and delay, and it has not really faced the problem."
"They put all the eggs in the vaccine basket, but these eggs did not hatch." Scully said.