UK must accept 100 Covid deaths every day, says expert – ahead of Boris’ Winter Plan

THE UK will have to accept 100 Covid deaths per day moving forward, an expert has said.

It comes as Boris Johnson is set to unveil his Winter Plan, which will involve no further lockdowns as he will “rip up” harsh coronavirus measures. 

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Currently some 125 people are dying of Covid each day, according to the Government dashboard, a figure that is steadily rising.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and director of the Wellcome Trust, discussed how many coronavirus deaths were acceptable while having freedom.

He told German podcast Pandemia: “Politicians across the world are sort of pretending you can have your cake and eat it: 'You can have zero deaths, no control measures, vaccinate if you want to or not vaccinate and it will all end’, and I just don't think that's realistic.

“I think [in the UK] around a hundred deaths a day, throughout the year, 30,000 deaths a year, in the current situation with the current vaccines, current treatments, current capacity within the system, I think is a level that would have to in the end be acceptable.' 

“I think all countries are going to have this debate, and it'll have to be an honest debate.

“Unless you’re New Zealand, you can't get to zero deaths. And even if you are New Zealand, I don't know how you plot your exit from this now.

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“Every country will have to have an honest debate - vaccines do this, treatment does that, some degree of control measures... but I don't think we can continue to close schools and workplaces.”

He said that some measures like wearing face masks on public transport were a “minor inconvenience for a potential benefit”.

It comes as figures from the Office for National Statistics found just one per cent of people who died of Covid in England were double-jabbed.

This shows the vaccines are continuing to work to prevent serious illness and death.

Between January 2 and July 2, 2021, there were 51,281 deaths involving Covid - 640 in people who were fully vaccinated.

The figures also revealed 61.1 per cent of "breakthrough deaths" (when someone double jabbed had a positive PCR tests 14 days after the second dose before dying) occurred in males, compared to 52.2 per cent and 48.5 per cent for other Covid deaths.

Julie Stanborough, Deputy Director Health and Life Events, said: “The risk of a death involving Covid-19 is much lower among people who are fully vaccinated than those who are unvaccinated or have only received one dose.

"This shows the effectiveness of the vaccines in giving a high degree of protection against severe illness and death.”

The i reported a cost-benefit analysis set the level at 1,000 a week before restrictions are reintroduced. 

It is understood the analysis showed once deaths went over 50,000 a year, it would outweigh the costs to the economy of shutting down. 

However, Downing Street has denied it has set any “acceptable level” of Covid deaths.

It comes as Boris Johnson prepares to set out his plan to get the country through the pandemic this autumn and winter via a press conference on Tuesday. 

He is expected to repeal the limits on gatherings and events and the powers which shut down swathes of the economy since last March.

The red tape roll-back is part of a master plan from the PM, who is desperate to avoid any further lockdowns.

The plan will focus on booster jabs for the over-50s, as The Sun can reveal third doses are to be rolled out in a similar way to the first vaccine drive, starting with the most elderly and vulnerable.

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If that does not work and the NHS starts coming under too much pressure, vaccine passports, more indoor masks and interventions such as working from home will have to return.

Mr Johnson had vowed to make jabs compulsory for big venues from the end of September, but climbed down after a major backlash from his own party.