Covid pandemic over in Britain, say experts.
Vaccine rollout has led to drop in symptomatic infections by up to 90%, data show, leaving virus at controllable ‘endemic’ levels.
Britain is no longer in a pandemic, experts have said, as new data showed the vaccination programme is reducing symptomatic Covid infections by up to 90% cent.
In the first large real-world study of the impact of vaccination on the general population, researchers found that the rollout is having a major impact on cutting both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases.
Sarah Walker, Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at Oxford and Chief Investigator on the Office for National Statistics Covid-19 Infection Survey, said that Britain had ‘moved from a pandemic to an endemic situation’ where the virus is circulating at a low, largely controllable level in the community.
The new research, based on throat swabs from 373,402 people between December 1 last year and April 3, found three weeks after one dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca jab, symptomatic infections fell by 74% and infections without symptoms by 57%.
By two doses, asymptomatic infections were down 70 per cent and symptomatic by 90%.
So Boris, unlock the gates, let us out and allow [sic] us start living again.