A LEADING health official says vaccines have cut the link between Covid infections and deaths.
Former deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries’s comments came as England’s R rate fell yesterday for the first time in eight weeks.
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The head of the Health Security Agency said: “Although cases are rising, we are not seeing a proportional rise in the number of people who are being admitted to hospital.
“The data suggests this is testament to the success of the vaccination programme and clearly demonstrates the importance of getting both doses of the vaccine.”
Since May, Covid cases have shot up five-fold but the number of patients in hospital has not even doubled — there were just over 1,000 at the end of June.
New admissions and intensive care cases are rising — but much slower than infections.
This is because vaccines are protecting the vulnerable and old who tend to be sicker and more often need hospital treatment than the young.
Science body Sage said the R rate, the average number of people infected by each virus case, had fallen to between 1.1 and 1.3 yesterday, from 1.2 to 1.4.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Every vaccine could be the difference bet-ween life and death.”
