Expert blames reliance on AstraZeneca jab, waning
immunity for UK case coronavirus rise
BRITAIN-HEALTH-VIRUS
Coronavirus case numbers in the U.K. continue to rise
despite 67 percent of the population being fully vaccinated | Daniel
Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images
BY ASHLEIGH
FURLONG
October 19,
2021 12:34 pm
Waning
immunity provided by coronavirus vaccines combined with the U.K.’s early
reliance on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has contributed to the current spike
in cases, which are close to reaching the 50,000-per-day mark, one of the
county’s top epidemiologists said Tuesday.
The U.K.’s
speedy rollout of vaccines has meant that those vaccinated early on are now
experiencing waning immunity, Neil Ferguson, director of Imperial College
London’s MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, told the BBC’s
Today program. “How early we were means we were a little bit more vulnerable,”
he said.
The
country’s reliance on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine that “protects slightly
less well than Pfizer against infection and transmission” is another factor in
the increase in cases being seen in the country.
Coronavirus
case numbers in the U.K. continue to rise despite 67 percent of the population
being fully vaccinated. However, other European countries with similar
vaccination coverage, such as France, are not yet seeing a rise in cases.
As the U.K.
heads into what the government has admitted will be a “challenging” winter, the
most important thing is to accelerate booster vaccinations and ensure teenagers
are vaccinated, said Ferguson. Britain’s booster campaign has come under
criticism for being too slow, with the government set to launch a new
advertising campaign to convince older people to get their third shot, reports
the Times.
Ferguson
also believes that vaccinating teenagers could be an important factor in
preventing rises in cases. He added that they needed to be receiving two doses,
not just one, as is currently recommended.
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