"Delta Variant Makes Achieving Herd Immunity Impossible"

Chair of UK Vaccine Committee Involved in AZ Development
"Variants That Spread Even Among Vaccinated Will Emerge"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Although leading countries in vaccination are actively using vaccine passports to fight the Delta variant virus, they are facing the most severe situation since the COVID-19 crisis began. Some experts predict that as long as Delta variant infections continue, it will be difficult to achieve herd immunity even with vaccinations.

According to The Guardian on the 10th (local time), Andrew Pollard, chair of the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) who participated in the development of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, claimed, "It is impossible to achieve herd immunity because of the Delta variant virus."

At a cross-party meeting on COVID-19 in the UK Parliament that day, Pollard warned, "The Delta variant is infecting vaccinated people," and "Variants that spread easily among vaccinated individuals will emerge in the future."

He argued that the focus should be on patients rather than confirmed cases, as the end of COVID-19 becomes more difficult. Pollard said, "We need to shift from mass testing of asymptomatic or mild cases to testing and treating only those with severe symptoms."

Pollard's remarks drew attention as they came amid a significant increase in COVID-19 cases and death rates even in countries with high vaccination rates.

According to the UK Department of Health, 39,688,566 adults, equivalent to 75% of the UK adult population, have completed their second dose. However, on that day, 146 deaths from COVID-19 were reported in the UK, the highest in five months. The Guardian explained, "This is the highest number since March 12 of this year, when 175 deaths occurred."

Israel, which was the first in the world to start administering booster shots to combat the Delta variant, was still unable to curb the spread. According to local media such as The Jerusalem Post, Israel reported 6,275 new cases the previous day, the highest in six months.

Israel, which began vaccinations in December last year and has completed vaccinations for more than half of its population, had single-digit new cases and monthly deaths as recently as early June. However, due to the spread of the Delta variant, new cases exceeded 1,000 in mid-last month and approached 4,000 at the beginning of this month. Since last month, booster shots have been administered to the elderly and immunocompromised.

The United States, which has focused on increasing vaccination rates since President Joe Biden took office, is not free from fear caused by the Delta variant. According to The New York Times (NYT) and others, the average daily new cases over one week in the US reached 124,470, a 2.18-fold increase compared to two weeks ago. The NYT explained, "This is the first time since February this year that the daily average new cases have exceeded 100,000."

Hospitalizations and deaths also surged during the same period. Hospitalized patients increased to about 67,000, and daily deaths rose to 514, nearly doubling in the past two weeks. Michael Sweat, team leader of the COVID-19 epidemic information project at the Medical University of South Carolina, told CNN, "We are approaching the highest number of confirmed cases since the COVID-19 crisis began."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.