Experts have warned that Delta variant of coronavirus can change the shape of the pandemic in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed the country’s vaccination rollout as the UK is set to lift all restrictions and return mostly back to normal on July 19. 

The UK had one of the longest and most stringent COVID-19 lockdowns that ended in April 2021. As per BBC report, more than 84% of adults in England have been vaccinated at least once.

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However, experts believe that a potential third wave could challenge the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 response system. 

“This variant has the potential to change the shape of the pandemic in your country. Once this variant enters a population, it’s easy to lose control of it,” Deepti Gurdasani, a senior epidemiology lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, told CNN.

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The Delta variant, first found in India, amounts for almost every COVID-19 case in the UK, CNN reports. Nearly 120,000 cases have been reported in the past week, which is 48,000 more than the week before.

“What we’re seeing is the dangers of a vaccine-only strategy. Vaccines are a hugely important part of our response, but we do need to protect our vaccines, and we need to reduce transmission,” Gurdasani added. 

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The Public Health England (PHE) found that vaccines used in the UK -Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca – are highly effective (92% and 96% respectively) against the Delta variant. However, CNN reports that hospitalisation and deaths have surged but at a slower pace. 

UK’s health secretary Sajid Javid believes that there is no reason to push back the new opening-up date.