'UK To Be Covid Free By August': Outgoing Vaccine Taskforce Chief

The United Kingdom's outgoing vaccine task force chief Clive Dix on Friday, May 7, said COVID will no longer be circulating in Britain by August. In an interview with the The Telegraph (UK), Dix said the population would be safe from the virus within a few months.

"Sometime in August, we will have no circulating virus in the UK," he told The Telegraph. The UK is on track to meet its target of giving all adults at least one covid jab by the end of July, he said. This, he pointed out, should give adequate protection against both the original covid strain and all known variants of the disease. As a result, booster vaccinations could be delayed from autumn until 2022.

Almost two-thirds of the adult population in the UK have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. It has been the second quickest country to do so, according to The Hindustan Times. Dix expects everyone in the UK to have been vaccinated at least once by the end of July.

Caseload Down

Although the UK has started reopening its economy, the caseload has continued to drop. About 14,000 people have tested positive for the virus this week, down by almost 10 per cent the previous weak. The government is looking at which CCOVID-19 vaccines would offer the best booster shot for vulnerable people later this year.

Clive Dix, who was appointed as the interim leader of the task force in December, stepped down from his role last week.