The UK health authorities will stop publishing the regular COVID-19 infections data in the new year because it is seen as “no longer necessary” as the country moves to a phase of ‘living with the virus’ with the help of vaccines and medicines.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that it will continue to monitor COVID like other common viral illnesses such as seasonal flu howver its next report due on January 6th will be its last.
Since April this year, the data on the reproductive rate, or the R value speed at which the novel coronavirus infects people, has been published fortnightly as a monitoring tool and despite announcing the report is nolonger to be published, Chief data scientist Dr Nick Watkins said publication of the data can be “reintroduced promptly” in the event of another wave of the virus or future lockdowns.
He said: “Vaccines and therapeutics have allowed us to move to a phase where we are living with Covid-19.
“We continue to monitor Covid-19 activity in a similar way to how we monitor a number of other common illnesses and diseases.
“All data publications are kept under constant review and this modelling data can be reintroduced promptly if needed, for example, if a new variant of concern was to be identified.”
