More than 100 scientists have condemned the government’s plans to drop restrictions on coronaviruses – describing it as a “dangerous and unethical experiment”.
In a letter published in The Lancet, they warned that any strategy that tolerates high levels of infection is “illogical”.
Urging ministers to reconsider plans, scientists also asserted that the exponential growth of COVID-19 “will likely continue until millions more are infected, leaving hundreds of thousands with the disease. and long-term disability ”.
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The letter says: “This strategy risks creating a generation with chronic health problems and disabilities, the personal and economic impacts of which could be felt for decades to come.”
There are also concerns that the strategy “provides fertile ground for the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suggested restrictions could be relaxed across England on July 19 – however, a final decision will not be made until Monday.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul of the British Medical Association was among the signatories, and the letter warns that advancing this date is both “dangerous and premature”.
While 64.6% of UK adults are fully vaccinated, this figure drops to 50.7% if children are included.
International scientists have also expressed support for the open letter. One of them, Professor Eric Topol, said: “The sharp increase in cases of Delta variants in the UK will not only lead to more Long COVID, but has also already resulted in more serious illnesses, with hospitalizations and deaths.
“Taking more time to further improve immunization rates should help reduce the toll of this super-spreading disease.”
Epidemiologist Dr Deepti Gurdasani, Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University, added: “The …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-07-07 16:52:00
