Some clips from a wide-ranging interview with @jonathansamuels on @SkyNews earlier.
“We are at perhaps the most promising, but also the most dangerous stage of the pandemic so far. The vaccine is on the horizon, but the new variant is a real concern.”
Is the tier system working?
This new variant, which is significantly more transmissible is making what was already a bad situation significantly worse.
Cases are rising in every area and there’s no reason to believe tiers 1-3 have done anything to slow the spread.
Do we need more measures?
We need to make schools safe. It was alarming to hear the PM yesterday suggest that it isn’t schools that are unsafe, just the mixing that goes on in them.
We know the mixing is the problem and schools do contribute significantly to spread.
Mass testing is a good first step, but there are lots of things the government could be doing to make schools safer places for pupils and teachers.
Measures need to be taken in conjunction with a reformed find, test and trace system, in particular with support for isolation.
I think things will get worse before they start to get better.
We’ve seen record numbers of cases and record numbers of deaths announced in recent days.
The vaccines provide a light at the end of the tunnel, but vaccines are not vaccination and the light is still a long way away.
You can follow @Kit_Yates_Maths.
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