Sharjah24 – AFP: Britain has repeatedly trumpeted its mass vaccination programme against Covid-19, hailing its early approval of jabs as a key part of the long struggle to return to normal life.
But infection rates remain stubbornly high, contrasting sharply with its European neighbours and prompting fresh questions of the government.
For two weeks, the number of new cases has wavered between 35,000 and 40,000 a day, and on Monday nudged closer to 50,000 -- the highest since the July peak of the "Delta" variant outbreak.
The daily death toll has often exceeded 100 since the summer, adding to an overall toll of more than 138,000, second only to Russia in Europe.
Across the Channel, France is recording some 4,000 cases a day and Germany 10,000. Deaths are running at about 30 and 60 daily respectively.
Questions are being asked about the gulf in figures, even if Prime Minister Boris Johnson -- who survived a spell in hospital intensive care with Covid -- appears unperturbed.
Scientists have already voiced fears that the high underlying number of cases could overload the state-run National Health Service, which is often under pressure in autumn and winter from respiratory infections.
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