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As I see it | Coronavirus: is it time to accept that vaccines alone won’t end the pandemic?
- The Delta variant has challenged the assumption that a vaccination rate of 70 per cent of the population will stop the spread
- While inoculation is helping to reduce deaths and pressure on health care systems, a more comprehensive strategy is needed
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As the world grapples with the highly contagious and deadly Delta variant, the debate is heating up over whether vaccines alone can stop the Covid-19 pandemic.
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It is clear that vaccines can help to reduce deaths, as seen in a recent study by the British Office for National Statistics. It looked at the 51,281 deaths in Britain caused by Covid-19 in the first half of this year, finding that 640 of those who died had been fully vaccinated. That compares to 50,000 unvaccinated people who died.
While the study did not say how many of those deaths were caused by Delta, the variant has been rapidly spreading in Britain since early June.
It has also been rapidly spreading around the globe, challenging the assumption that a vaccination rate of 70 per cent of the population – a global target US President Joe Biden is reportedly about to propose – will bring an end to the pandemic.
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Earlier this month, the World Health Organization’s Europe chief Hans Kluge cast doubt on whether vaccines alone can stop it, saying new strains would continue to emerge.
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