“Dangerous and premature.” Experts urge Boris Johnson to delay de-liquidation process

Despite the growing trend in daily cases, with more than 30,000 infections recorded on Wednesday, the British government maintains its decision to lift all restrictions on the following 19th day, which was marked in the calendar as “Freedom Day” for the British.

While British Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged that the removal of the strikes could lead to a massive increase in cases and even a “very difficult winter”, he confirmed on Monday that from July 19 use is no longer mandatory. Mask in enclosed public places, as well as respect for physical distance. For most experts, this is a “dangerous and premature” decision.

In a letter published on Wednesday in the scientific journal scalpel, 122 scientists and doctors from the UK and the rest of the world accuse the British government of starting to prepare “Dangerous and unethical experiment”Which will put an entire generation at risk of developing chronic health problems due to Covid-19 for long periods. The United Kingdom on Tuesday recorded 32,548 new cases of Covid-19, the largest daily increase since January, and the Ministry of Health expects daily infections to reach 100,000 in the summer.

As the experts explain in the document, “The end of the epidemic through herd immunity requires that a large portion of the population be immune to prevent the exponential growth of SARS-Cov-2.” This group immunity is unlikely to be achieved by July 19, given that vaccination levels are much higher than might be expected by that date. This means that “herd immunity will be achieved through vaccination of some people and natural infection by others”, especially younger people who are still waiting for the first dose of the vaccine.

Experts warn that “this strategy risks leaving a generation with chronic health problems and disabilities, the personal and economic effects of which can be felt in the coming decades.” “Mass infection is not an option,” they warn.

“A lot of us have prompted the new Secretary of State for Health, Sajid Javid, to look at Covid-19 for prolonged periods and assess the discomfort,” said David Strain, a Covid-19 researcher at the University of Exeter, citing David Strain, a Covid-19 researcher at the University of Exeter. . financial times. He noted that he “did not appear to have taken these warnings into account, although the extended Covid-19 virus is likely to have a greater impact on the economy than any other aspect of the pandemic.”

Prolonged COVID-19, or “long Covid,” is characterized by persistent symptoms months after the infection has cleared. The most common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, insomnia, and cognitive disturbances such as impaired memory and concentration.

“I am baffled that Javid is releasing numbers like 100,000 cases per day without mentioning how many people can develop Covid for so long,” said Natalie McDermott, lecturer at King’s College London. financial times. “This could leave a huge legacy of more than ten thousand cases of Lung Covid a day.”, he adds.
A ‘significant impact’ on health services
With the number of cases expected to double every nine days, infections in the UK are expected to surpass the winter peak of 68,000 cases per day within two weeks and could reach 100,000 by the end of the month.

This means that the British government’s strategy will have “a significant impact on health services and exhausted health professionals, who have not yet recovered from previous waves of infections,” experts warned in the article published in spearR.

Experts warn that the link between infection and hospitalization may have weakened, but not broken and that the increasing number of cases “will inevitably lead to an increase in hospitalizations.” The average number of people treated in hospital in the UK per day was 351 between 27 June and 3 July, an increase of 44.7 per cent over the previous seven days.

“There are twice as many people with Covid-19 in hospital beds and ventilator support than there were last month,” Chand Nagpol, Chairman of the British Medical Association and one of the signatories to the letter published in scalpel. “The government has also corrected the long-term impact of Covid on one in ten people, with more than two million people having health problems for more than three months. It would be irresponsible to inflict more suffering on millions more,” Nagbul added, quoting, citing Watchman.

“We know that masks are effective in preventing the spread of disease [do vírus]It is therefore absurd and dangerous for the government to abandon the compulsory use of masks in enclosed public spaces, such as on public transportation, on July 19. The expert appealed to us to continue these measures to prevent the spread of this deadly virus until we have a sufficient number of the population fully immunized with both doses.

Experts in the letter also warn that a new outbreak of infection will lead to a “significant disruption to education”, as well as provide a “fertile ground for the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants.”

Experts urge that “the UK government should reconsider its current strategy and take urgent action to protect the population, including children”.

Experts stress that “the government should postpone the dismantling process until everyone, including adolescents, is fully vaccinated, and until mitigation measures are imposed, especially adequate ventilation and school spacing.”