Professor in ‘difficult weeks’ alert

EPIDEMIOLOGIST Professor Neil Ferguson says the country is in for a “difficult few weeks” after the Government insisted there were no plans for an October lockdown.

The expert (pictured), who was instrumental in Britain’s lockdown, warned: “I think we will see a difficult few weeks. We’re expecting numbers to tick up.”

His warning came after the Government shot down reports of an October “firebreak” lockdown.

Professor Ferguson said: “We need to monitor what’s happening in the next few weeks, and if we start seeing something closer to the worstcase scenarios – case numbers at 100,000 or more – there may well need to be some course correction at that point.”

The Government says there are contingency plans that would “only be reintroduced as a last resort” to protect the NHS. Professor Robin Shattock, head of mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial College London, said that next winter elderly people and the vulnerable may be given an updated booster vaccine. Professor Shattock said the Delta variant will be observed to see if it “remains stable and globally dominant”.

“If it does, then I think people will look to update the vaccine over time,” he said. “In the short term, we already know that the vaccines are effective at preventing serious illness from the Delta variant so there isn’t a pressing need to rush quickly, although this can be done in a relatively short order, probably a period of six months.” He added: “I would imagine that as we come round to the winter of next year we will be looking to boost at least the elderly and vulnerable populations, most likely with an updated vaccine.”

I think we will see a difficult few weeks. We’re expecting numbers to tick up

Professor Neil Ferguson