However, he said the government was taking “a wise approach” in being cautious ahead of making its decision…reports Asian Lite News.
The latest Covid-19 data from the UK looks encouraging, according to a government adviser, amid a debate over whether to end restrictions in England on 21 June, it was reported.
Sir John Bell, part of the government’s vaccine taskforce, said there needed to be “balance” to the discussion, the BBC reported.
Sir John, regius professor of medicine at University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the UK’s “numbers don’t look too intimidating” and he was “encouraged” by what he saw.
However, he said the government was taking “a wise approach” in being cautious ahead of making its decision.
“I do think we need to keep our eye on hospitalisations, serious disease and deaths which is really what we are trying to manage,” Sir John was quoted as saying.
“If we scamper down a rabbit hole every time we see a new variant we are going to spend a long time huddled away so we do need to keep a bit of balance to the discussion and keep our eyes on the serious disease that we are trying to prevent,” he added.
On Tuesday, UK reported zero daily coronavirus-related deaths for the first time since March last year.
Earlier Tuesday, a scientist advising the British government said the progress of Britain’s vaccination program does not mean that the fight against coronavirus is over.
Professor Adam Finn from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the government on vaccine priority, said the country remains vulnerable as large numbers of people remain unvaccinated.
More than 39.4 million people, about three-quarters of adults in Britain, have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
“The idea that somehow the job is done is wrong — we’ve still got a lot of people out there who have neither had this virus infection nor yet been immunized and that’s why we’re in a vulnerable position right now,” he told the BBC.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Tuesday that the easing of restrictions will be delayed in much of Scotland, which will remain in Level Two restrictions amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus variant first detected in India.
Experts have warned that coronavirus may continue to evolve for years to come, and eventually it is likely current vaccines will fail to protect against transmission, infection, or even against disease caused by newer variants.
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