UK Covid cases will surge despite vaccines, medical officer says

Whitty said that caution in re-opening the economy would affect the size and the timing of a resurgence, but that vaccines would not be able to prevent all deaths from Covid.

Britain will see a resurgence in coronavirus cases at some point and can't bring deaths from Covid-19 down to zero even with a successful vaccine rollout, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Tuesday.

Volunteers are assisted by Lecturer Dr Jacquie White (L) as they locate learn to locate the deltoid muscle in the upper arm during training to prepare volunteers to be deployed to assist in the national Covid-19 vaccination programme, in the Allam Medical Building at the University of Hull, northern England, on January 30, 2021. - The University of Hull started training vaccinators to support the UK's Covid-19 vaccination programme. The NHS is in the process of deploying thousands of volunteers to increase the roll-out of vaccinations across the UK in the fight against Covid-19 with eight million people having already received at least one vaccine jab in what is the country's largest ever innoculation programme. (Photo by OLI SCARFF / AFP) (AFP)

Whitty said that caution in re-opening the economy would affect the size and the timing of a resurgence, but that vaccines would not be able to prevent all deaths from Covid.

"All the modelling suggests there is going to be a further surge and that will find the people who either have not been vaccinated, or where the vaccine has not worked, and some of them will end up in hospital and sadly, some of them will go on to die," Whitty told lawmakers.

"The ratio of cases to deaths will go right down as a result of vaccination, but not right down to zero, unfortunately."