Do You Think Government Should Be Doing to Deal With the Corona Virus?

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Graham, you are a member of sage and a key figure in terms of giving advice to government. Do you think we are looking at maybe not an endless cycle, but years of cycles, of waves of covid every so many months? Yes, i do. But the immunity will built up in the population a over that period of time. It might take decades or many years to get to a point where this virus is very similar to the other corona viruses that we have.

The UK is yet again facing a wave of Covid infections, with cases soaring by more than half a million in a week at the end of June. This time, the wave is driven by even more transmissible variants of Omicron known as BA.4 and BA.5. But with all Covid precautions gone, and many of us heading to bars, pubs, festivals and sporting events as the summer rolls on, is it much of a surprise? Ian Sample asks Prof Graham Medley if infections will translate into hospitalisations and deaths, and whether we can expect ongoing cycles of Covid waves in the months and years to come. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod