Sir Mark Walport
You’re gonna need a whole lot more vaccines before you can hug.
A whole helluva lot more vaccines.
Maybe after every 1 million vaccines, you can hug people.
People should be able to hug again when case numbers are âvery, very lowâ, a former government adviser has said.
Professor Sir Mark Walport, former chief scientific adviser to the Government, said there are still around 5,000 cases a day in the UK.
And that while most of the vulnerable population are now protected, there are still 37 million people who have not been immunised.
But he said more is being learned about vaccines each day â including evidence on whether they can help stop the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, the âhands, face, space, fresh airâ slogan serves as a reminder to people not to âsneak into the houseâ as restrictions ease, he added.
Asked about when people could hug again, he told Times Radio: âI think that when the evidence shows that the case number is really, really low indeed, thatâs the point, so some degree of caution makes sense.
âWeâre also learning more about the effectiveness of the vaccine every day at the moment â as more and more people get the vaccine then we will learn from the numbers.â
When asked what he would consider to be âvery, very low indeedâ, he said: âWell, how long is a piece of string?
âAs I say, itâs significantly lower than weâve got at the moment, you know 5,000 cases a day is roughly where we were at the end of September, and certainly if this was on an upward trajectory we would be pretty worried at the sorts of numbers.
âSomewhere around 0.3% to 0.4% of the population across the UK on any day being infected â thatâs the prevalence of the infection.â
But asked about hugs between grandparents and grandchildren on BBC Radio 4âs Today programme, he added: âBe very cautious is the answer.
âThe transmission (of the virus) outdoors is much less, but it is actually proximity at the end of the day â that is the important issue in transmission from one person to another.
âAnd prolonged close proximity outside carries its own risks.
âSo people are going to have to exercise their judgment, but hopefully in a cautious way.â
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston said, âplease donât do the huggingâ.
There it is.
Please don’t do the hugging.
The hugging is finished.
We are deep into this crisis. We need to wake up, and quit it with the hugging.
I’m scared right now, because of all these people thinking about hugging.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky goes off script with an emotional plea to the public about an âimpending doomâ following rise in COVID cases:
âRight now, Iâm scared.â pic.twitter.com/UKjrRhr7He
— The Recount (@therecount) March 29, 2021
