London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 02, 2025

Covid-19: Don't think pandemic is over, Whitty warns

Covid-19: Don't think pandemic is over, Whitty warns

Unlocking too quickly would lead to a substantial surge in Covid infections, the UK's chief medical adviser says.

Prof Chris Whitty told MPs that would be dangerous and risk lives among the many vulnerable people not yet protected by the vaccine.

"A lot of people may think this is all over. It is very easy to forget how quickly things can turn bad," he said.

His comments come amid pressure from backbench Tories to ease lockdown more quickly, given the drop in infections.

The Covid Recovery Group, which includes over 70 MPs, has pushed the prime minister to relax more steps, more quickly.

Appearing before the Science and Technology Select Committee, Prof Whitty said: "Under all the scenarios, if we unlock very suddenly, all the modelling suggests we would get a substantial surge while a lot of people are not protected."

Meanwhile, the latest daily figures for Covid show 5,766 more cases have been identified, 590 new admissions made to hospital and 231 deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive test.

Figures published on Tuesday show that over the weekend the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 fell below 10,000 for the first time since 25 October. The latest figures, covering 7 March, show there currently are 9,418 people in hospital with coronavirus.

Why impact of vaccination is gradual


In his evidence to MPs, Prof Whitty set out why, despite the impressive vaccination rollout programme, there are still many people vulnerable to the virus.

It takes about three weeks to build up immunity following the first dose of the vaccine.

So only the first four priority groups - the over-70s, health and care staff and the extremely clinical vulnerable - will have developed significant protection at the moment.

Most Covid deaths have been in these groups. But nearly half of hospital admissions have been seen in the under-70s.

And most transmission was driven by younger people, who had more social contacts, Prof Whitty said.

So the UK's policy of focusing on older age groups means it will be some time before the vaccine rollout will have a significant impact on the virus's spread.


'You want to be confident each unlock is safe'


The step-by-step roadmap in England will not see all restrictions lifted until June at the earliest.

Prof Whitty said government advisers needed three to four weeks after a restriction was lifted to assess the impact.

And as the government wanted to give a week's notice of any changes to the roadmap, a five-week gap was needed.

"If you look at the steps, each one is quite a big one," he said.

"You want to be absolutely confident it is safe."

He also said people who thought the UK was no longer at risk should look at continental Europe, with countries seeing rates going up and having to reintroduce restrictions.

Long-term 'people will still die of Covid'


Longer term, Prof Whitty said, it was unrealistic to expect zero deaths.

Even with a gradual lifting of restrictions, modelling suggests, there could be another 30,000 deaths before the summer of 2022.

This was because while the vaccines were good, Prof Whitty said, they were not 100% effective and with some people refusing to have them a proportion of the population would remain unprotected.


It was impossible to predict exactly how many would die, Prof Whitty said.

He said it would be a "significant number", though nothing like we had seen over the past year.

"The ratio of cases to deaths will go right down as a result of vaccination - but not right down to zero unfortunately," he said.

But he pointed out this was already the case for flu, saying in a bad winter 20,000 people could die.

And while Covid was expected to become seasonal, with future surges in the autumn and winter, he could not rule out a rise in cases in the summer.


Prof Chris Whitty: "As things are opening up... at some point we will get a surge in the virus"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Education Secretary Announces Overhaul of Complaints System Amid Rising Parental Grievances
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Over Digital Services Tax
UK Government Softens Welfare Reform Plans Amid Labour Party Rebellion
Labour Faces Rebellion Over Disability Benefit Reforms Ahead of Key Vote
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Host Lavish Wedding in Venice Amid Protests
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
North Korea to Open New Beach Resort to Boost Tourism Economy
UK Labour Party Faces Internal Tensions Over Welfare Reforms
Andrew Cuomo Hints at Potential November Comeback Amid Democratic Primary Results
Curtis Sliwa Champions His Vision for New York City Amid Rising Crime Concerns
Federal Reserve Proposes Changes to Capital Rule Affecting Major Banks
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Media Over Iran Strike Coverage
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
Big Four Accounting Firms Fined in Exam Cheating Scandal
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
Australia's Star Casino Secures $195 Million Rescue Package Amid Challenges
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
×