The rapid spread of the Delta variant, first identified in India, has led to a 50% increase in infections in England since May. That’s according to a large study by Imperial College London, quoted by Reuters.
The British government said the study supported Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to postpone the end of the restrictions to July 19, which was originally scheduled for June 21.
“The prevalence is increasing exponentially because of the younger age groups … and it seems to be doubling every 11 days. This is obviously bad news,” said Stephen Riley, a professor of infectious disease dynamics at Imperial College.
The study is one of the largest studies on the spread of coronavirus in the UK, with 109,000 volunteers tested in its latest round.
Riley added that high levels of vaccination in the UK make it difficult to predict how long the exponential growth will continue, saying that rapid vaccination of younger age groups should slow it down.
More than half of the UK adult population has received two doses of the vaccine and more than three quarters have been vaccinated with one.
Initial studies have shown that the Delta variant significantly reduces the effectiveness of vaccines after the first dose, but provides good protection against severe disease, writes Reuters.
