Monday briefing: The new variant that’s a reminder the pandemic never fully ended

In today's newsletter: The Eris' strain of Covid is a reminder that the virus has never fully gone away - but what will it mean for Britain?

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Good morning. Covid has become a polarising topic that many people just want to forget about. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization officially declared an end to the global public health emergency. Cases, hospitalisations and deaths are at their lowest levels, though infections have undoubtedly become more difficult to track as monitoring systems are dismantled. But even so, experts have made it clear that Covid will be with us for many years to come even though the acute phase of the health emergency is over.

Like an unwelcome guest that does not know when the party is over, Covid has continued to mutate and shape shift, creating a viral, ever expanding family tree through its numerous variants and sub-variants, with Eris the latest of interest to the WHO. Many thousands of vulnerable people are still shielding in the UK - poorly protected by a government that would rather ignore the problem. And with record waiting lists in the NHS, is the country any better prepared for a future pandemic than it was in 2020?