Coronavirus surge continues in US, UK despite vaccine roll out

British PM Boris Johnson was scheduled to be the chief guest for India's 70th Republic Day but the UK PM called off the visit due to the Wuhan virus.

The virus has mutated and pushed the country into another lockdown with tougher restrictions imposed across the UK. PM Boris Johnson called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and regretted the cancellation.

The United Kingdom is battling a crisis with the entire country preparing to stay indoors once again. The pandemic is far from over, not just in Britain but across the world. There are still enough flare-ups, outbreaks and challenges to show that the pandemic has not been defeated.

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In the United States hospitals have been overflowing with new cases but the vaccines are sitting idle. In South Africa, there are fears that the vaccine won't work on the new Wuhan virus variant which is spreading rapidly.

In Portugal, a nurse died barely two days after getting the Pfizer vaccine. The developments were only a reminder on why it's important to not fall into the trap of normalcy.

There have been 85.7 million cases and over 1.8 million deaths and three dangerous variants. The Wuhan virus is still wreaking havoc across the world.

The United States remains the worst-hit country. The cases in the US have been rising including hospitalisations but the vaccine doses are sitting on ice with vo: more than two-third vaccines shipped to the United States gone unused.

There are organisational glitches and logistical issues at hospitals contributing to a growing hesitancy among patients regarding the vaccine's side-effects.

Out of the 15 million doses provided to states and territories, only 4.5 million have been administered.

The governors of New York and Florida have vowed to penalise hospitals that fail to dispense the shots in the next few days.

In the United Kingdom, the new virus strain is overwhelming the health system with 58,000 fresh cases reported on Monday which is the highest daily spike since the pandemic began.

PM Boris Johnson has ordered a new national lockdown to slow the surge. The entire country must now stay at home and the exceptions are limited.

In South Africa, the mutated strain is turning out to be more problematic than expected with cases having risen by 200 per cent in just one month.

Scientists are not fully confident that the vaccine will work on the South African strain, if it turns out to be true then it might take a few more months to adapt the vaccine to the higher viral load of the mutation.