- In late July, the United Kingdom saw around 43,000 new infections on a daily basis. Now, that number has been halved, despite the easing of lockdowns and restrictions.
- The Delta variant emerged in the United Kingdom in late April 2021 and was the dominant strain by May. This latest surge peaked on July 21 and now cases are free falling.
- The United Kingdom now has the high vaccination rates among adults: 88 percent of adults in the United Kingdom have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 73 percent have received at least one dose.
The latest surge in the United Kingdom, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, is already dwindling.
In late July, the U.K. saw around 43,000 new infections on a daily basis. Now, that number has been halved, despite the easing of lockdowns and restrictions.
Infectious disease specialists suspect a number of factors are contributing to the rapid drop in cases, including the United Kingdom’s high vaccination rate, the fact that schools are out for the summer, and the warmer, more humid climate.
As the United States battles its own wave fueled by Delta, you might wonder if cases here will similarly rise then rapidly decline.
But health experts are skeptical. The United States is behind the United Kingdom in vaccinations, and states with especially low vaccination rates — like Louisiana — are hot spots seeing significant increases in COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
Unless the United States can rapidly boost vaccination rates across the country over the next few weeks, the current wave, which is predominantly impacting unvaccinated people, could last through the fall.
Source: healthline