With Covid infections continuing to decrease across the UK, scientists and government experts have offered a number of theories to explain this downward trend, ranging from herd immunity to the effects of the recent warm weather.
There are no clear answers, for now at least, but the falling rates are a clear sign that the UK has past the peak of its predicted ‘exit wave’.
Still, there is much uncertainty that lies ahead, and experts remain fearful of another surge in cases over the winter that could once again ramp up the pressure on the NHS.
Third doses are also expected to be rolled out for the clinically vulnerable and over-50s, meaning millions of people are due to be further vaccinated this autumn – at a time when many of us will be crowding indoors and providing the virus with ample opportunity to spread among the unprotected and those with faded immunity.
The next chapter of Britain’s epidemic could go one of many ways, and determining what happens next is difficult to predict.
Which is why we’ve turning to an expert who, throughout the pandemic, has specialised in modelling the trajectory of Covid cases in the UK and offered easily accessible visual analysis alongside his data.
Colin Angus, a health inequalities expert at Sheffield University, will be joining us at 3pm on Wednesday 4 August to answer any questions that you – our readers – have about the UK’s falling infections, what the data suggests and what might come next.
All you have to do is register to submit your question in the comments below. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments box to leave your question.
Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they will be hidden until Colin and I join the conversation to answer them. We look forward to speaking with you on Wednesday.
