Questions as UK faces coronavirus surge

A study by Imperial College had shown that cases were on the rise among children

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R A spurt of coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom (UK) has put Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the backfoot, prompting questions as to the origins of the surge. The numbers are not encouraging. As per the latest AFP tally, for two weeks, the number of new cases has wavered between 35,000 and 40,000 a day, and on Monday nudged closer to 50,000, the highest since the July peak of the Delta variant outbreak. The daily death count has often exceeded 100 since the summer, adding to an overall toll of more than 1,38,000, second only to Russia in Europe.

Former US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Scott Gottlieb called for further investigations into Delta Plus mutations. “UK reported its biggest one-day COVID case increase in three months just as the new Delta variant AY.4 with the S:Y145H mutation in the spike reaches eight per cent of sequenced cases. We need urgent research to figure out if this Delta Plus is more transmissible, has partial immune evasion," he tweeted.

A study by London Imperial College had shown that cases were on the rise among school kids. Vaccination rates for the age group in England are lagging those in many European countries and even Scotland, which some scientists have attributed to mixed messaging around shots for children, a later start and inflexibility with the rollout, news agency Reuters reported."The worry at the moment is it is clear that the vaccination programme in 12 to 15-year-olds is not going very well," Lawrence Young, virologist at University of Warwick, told Reuters, adding that the spread of other viruses could lead to a "perfect storm" in the winter for the National Health Service if cases spread to older, more vulnerable adults. "With all of what that means not only again for schools, but also for overwhelming the NHS, then the worry is that autumn and winter are going to get very, very messy."