New research suggests that vaccinations alone are unlikely to prevent Covid “case spreading in the UK,” but gradual reopening with high vaccine uptake could minimise future waves of the virus.
Herd immunity is unlikely to happen even if all adults are vaccinated in the UK and fully contain the virus, research suggests.
Gradual easing of restrictions and a high vaccine uptake will offer protection against infection which will therefore reduce the risk of future outbreaks.
Vaccines do offer some protections against being infected, however the exact level is unknown.
Professor Matt Keeling, from the University of Warwick said, “Our modelling suggests that vaccination rollout in adults alone is unlikely to completely stop Covid cases spreading in the UK.
“We also found that early sudden release of restrictions is likely to lead to a large wave of infection, whereas gradually easing measures over a period of many months could reduce the peak of future waves.
“The huge success of the UK’s vaccine programme so far coupled with the government’s gradual road map for easing restrictions are a cause for optimism.
“However, some measures, such as test, trace, and isolate, good hand hygiene, mask-wearing in high-risk settings, and tracing from super-spreader events, may also be necessary for some time.”
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