The United Kingdom is experiencing an uptick in coronavirus cases. It's "tiny" compared to previous spikes, David Leonhardt writes in The New York Times, but he adds that the country will still be "important to watch" in the next few weeks. So, considering the U.K. has had a mostly successful vaccine rollout, why is the increase happening?
The primary culprit is likely the more transmissible Delta variant, first identified in India, that's been spreading in the U.K. The good news is that it appears vaccines hold up pretty well against the mutatated virus, but less so for people who have received only one vaccine dose, which is more common in the U.K. than it is in the United States. The U.K. chose to prioritize first shots early in the rollout, which allowed a wider swath of people to get at least some protection. That was "not necessarily" a mistake, despite the Delta variant changing the game a bit, Leonhardt writes, but it does mean more people — especially younger people who are still in the middle of the vaccination process — have a higher risk of getting infected. Fortunately, about 90 percent of U.K. residents older than 65 have received both doses, and the country "is accelerating second shots for vulnerable people" now, Leonhardt writes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed an opportunity
-
Where the new Pope Leo XIV stands on various issuesThe Explainer The first American pontiff is expected to continue some of his predecessor's work
-
What's wrong with America's air traffic control systems?Today's Big Question The radios and radar keep going out at Newark International
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everythingFeature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreadsSpeed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozensSpeed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study findsSpeed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
