Vallance says Lockdown must remain as UK hospitals as a war zone

Photographer: Tolga Akmen / AFP / Getty Images

Boris Johnson, chief scientific adviser, warned that coronavirus restrictions must remain in place for the short term, with UK case levels “now close to where they need to be” and some hospitals “as a war zone. ”

Now “this is not the time” to consider building England’s third national closure, Patrick Vallance told Sky News on Wednesday. He also said some restrictions may be needed next winter – including masks, especially indoors.

Ministers have previously said the lockout could be gradually reduced once around 15 million people who are more vulnerable to the disease have received vaccinations, which the government wants to do before mid-term. February. But Vallance said taking a break early could lead to another spike in infections, and warned the spread of the vaccine “we are not going to do the heavy lifting for us right now. ”

“I do not see the spread of these measures as the sensible thing to do in the short term,” Vallance said, citing Einstein’s explanation of the complaint of doing the same thing again and expecting different results. “Every time you release it too soon you get that boost.”

The UK reported 1,610 deaths Tuesday, the highest daily number of the pandemic, along with 33,355 new cases. Vaccination rates have slowed in recent days, although 4.3 million people received their first dose.

‘Disaster’

Any delay in lifting the lock is likely to cause political trouble for Johnson, who is opposed to resentment among lawmakers in his Conservative Party over the damage the measures are causing. the economy. Steve Baker, a senior member of the status-and-file Parliament, warned last week that it would be a “catastrophe” if panoramic restrictions lasted until spring.

Vallance suggested that the government should pay attention to the lessons from the pandemic. The evidence shows “you need to go hard early and wider if you want to find out,” he said. “Waiting and watching doesn’t work.”

He added that “tougher” quarantine measures for travelers in January and February may have helped to prevent the outbreak, but by March we had “so many cases I don’t think it would have make a lot of difference. ”

The government’s top scientist hit an attractive tone about the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, despite early analysis from Israel suggesting that it has much lower efficacy after the first dose than previously expected. If confirmed, that would raise questions about the UK ‘s strategy to delay a second dose to reach more people for the first.

But Vallance cited test data showing that the vaccine could be 89% effective after a single dose – from 10 days after injection. He said that while “it may not be as high as that in practice,” it will also not be as low as the Israeli study said. Scientists will examine data from Israel and the UK in the coming weeks, he said.