The United Kingdom has played a key role in understanding the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
The Professors of the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Gikas Majorkinis and Thanos Dimopoulos (Rector of EKPA) report that the United Kingdom is at the forefront of the genomic study of SARS-CoV-2 strains as more than 1 million complete coronavirus genomes have been studied and made publicly available.
Through its open data policy and extensive genomic study, it has been able to detect and study in depth many potentially dangerous mutations in the coronavirus genome and therefore to detect dangerous strains such as strains. Alpha, Gamma and Delta.
In addition, in a move that received considerable criticism but eventually proved correct, the vaccine doses were given at longer intervals than had been suggested in the original studies. As a result, the immunity developed in the population of the United Kingdom has better quality characteristics than the countries that followed the “traditional” vaccination regimens.
Of particular interest is the fact that all coronavirus-related restrictions have been lifted in the United Kingdom since 19 July. This decision was not made by chance, as the UK’s public health surveillance of the epidemic is one of the most well-organized in the world.
Epidemiologists are therefore focusing on the development of the epidemic in the United Kingdom as it seems that it is possible to achieve a balanced control of the epidemic through adequate vaccination levels.
The epidemic in the UK since “Freedom Day” has been steadily fluctuating, with a significant decline in the number of new diagnoses in recent weeks. These are early signs that in the first winter and in the absence of restrictions in a country with adequate vaccination rates the coronavirus epidemic can be adequately controlled. Although the first signs are very optimistic, in any case we will have to wait several months to draw the final conclusions safely. Until then, epidemiologists will pay close attention to data that is carefully collected and made publicly available in the UK.
.
