After going through a very violent wave in December-January, because the alpha variant is more contagious than previous strains, for several weeks, the United Kingdom has seen an increase in contamination with the delta variant initially found in India, and even more so. is more contagious.

Except that the current surge in positive cases is not reflected in the number of deaths. These are increasing, but much less than the previous wave. We can see this phenomenon clearly by shifting the proven deaths curve by two weeks (the time after which deaths usually occur), so that it overlaps with the detection of new cases, and modifying the scale. By doing

vaccine shield

The difference between the two periods is the progress of the vaccination. Now 65% of the UK population has received a single dose of the vaccine, and 48% have received both. The UK vaccine strategy has been to vaccinate as many people as possible with the first dose, even if it means falling behind the second dose. Targeting vulnerable populations also has an undoubted effect: the elderly, who are more vaccinated, are less contaminated. And when they are, they die less.

That doesn’t stop the British government from delaying lifting health restriction measures, with vaccination probably not enough to stop the current wave. In France, the delta variant is spreading particularly in the Landes, but we now rely solely on vaccination to fight a potential fourth wave.

If you are viewing this page on the mobile app, please tap (i) below the main image to view the infographic in full screen.