Good morning.
It’s 1 November, and despite unseasonably warm weather across many parts of the UK, winter is coming. However, unlike recent winters, mass testing, mandatory masks and social distancing are things of the past. Over the last 10 months, the medical and social spectre of Covid-19 has waned significantly, and many places have seen a return to pre-pandemic levels of activity. While infection rates have fallen since the summer, a combination of new variants, a struggling health service, and the approach of flu season has left scientists concerned that a new wave could be around the corner. A vaccination booster campaign is underway for vulnerable groups, but further government intervention seems unlikely. For today’s newsletter, I spoke with Prof Devi Sridhar, the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, about where we are at with the pandemic now, what we might expect to see in the coming months and how we can keep ourselves safe. That’s right after the headlines.
