Prof Adam Finn’s comments come after PHE reported 79% rise in number of Delta variant cases in just one week, says an article published in The Guardian.
Delta variant spread
A government scientific adviser has said a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is “definitely under way” as the vaccine program races to outpace the Delta variant’s spread across the UK.
It comes after Public Health England reported a 79% rise in the number of cases of the variant first identified in India in a week.
Surge testing rolled out
Hospital admissions have almost doubled. Experts say the sudden increase is being driven by infections among younger people. The vaccination program was opened up to people aged 18 and over on Friday and surge testing is being rolled out in parts of south London and Cumbria.
Third wave and younger adults
Prof Adam Finn, who is a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), told Radio 4’s Today “It’s going up, perhaps we can be a little bit optimistic it’s not going up any faster, but nevertheless it’s going up, so this third wave is definitely underway.”
“We can conclude that the race is firmly on between the vaccine program, particularly getting older people’s second doses done, and the Delta variant third wave.”
Children’s vaccination
He said the JCVI was still deciding whether children should be vaccinated, but that at the moment adults are the priority.
“Even if some decision were made to immunize children it wouldn’t be appropriate right now, either here or anywhere else in Europe, to give our doses predominantly to children because it’s adults that get sick, so vaccinating adults is clearly the priority right now,” he said.
Asked whether he felt confident that vaccinations would outpace the variant, he said: “No, I don’t feel confident, but I think there’s some grounds for optimism.”
He further escalated “The latest ONS figures continue to show a rise, but that rise has not accelerated quite as much as I’d feared over the last week. So, the race is on.”
Key to avoid deaths
He said administering second doses, especially to older people, as quickly as possible would be key to avoiding “a great big surge of hospitalizations and deaths”.
Dr. Mike Tildesley, an epidemiologist and a member of the SPI-M modeling group, said those becoming infected and being admitted to hospital were “slightly younger, and therefore also slightly less sick” and had a higher chance of recovery.
“All of these are cautiously good signs but, of course, we do need to keep an eye on this over the next couple of weeks so that we can give as much information as we can to the government prior to the 19 July reopening,” he told BBC Breakfast.
London to urge surge testing
Surge testing was being rolled out in south London on Saturday in Clapham, Brixton, Stockwell, West Norwood, and Vauxhall. People who live in Lambeth are being strongly encouraged to take a PCR test even if they do not have symptoms.
In Cumbria, everyone aged 12 to 30 has also been urged to take a test, and pupils will be offered tests at school.
The government said people in these areas should also continue to use free lateral flow tests twice a week.
Giant weekend vaccination clinics
Giant vaccination clinics are expected to open in London this weekend, including at the Olympic Stadium, and the Tottenham Hotspur Chelsea and Charlton Athletic football grounds.
Relaxed restrictions
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, is considering canceling the 10 days of self-isolation for people who have had two vaccines if they come into contact with an infected person, according to the Times.
Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, told Times Radio it was already happening in the US.
“The Centres for Disease Control changed their guidance a while ago to say that people who had had both doses of the vaccine and about 10 to 14 days after the second dose didn’t have to self-isolate, so I think we are moving in that direction,” she said.
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Source: The Guardian
