Last modified on Wed 4 Aug 2021 04.02 EDT
Last month we reported on how Britain – trusting in its high vaccination rate to lift Covid restrictions despite surging Delta variant cases – was increasingly seen by the world as a test case for pandemic control. It’s early days and the data is not yet full enough to paint a clear picture, but as cases suddenly began to fall last week, scientists and politicians were asking if the country might have made a significant breakthrough.
The Observer’s science editor Robin McKie examines what is happening, considers what the coming months might hold and hears cautionary warnings from many experts. Then, for another perspective, Helen Sullivan reports from Australia, faced with many more weeks of tough restrictions as the country seemingly pays a price for its sluggish vaccination programme.
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Top story: wildlife could hold key to saving habitats Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are today’s top stories. Species such as elephants and wolves should be reintroduced to help restore ecologies ravaged by human development, scientists say, after research revealed that only 3% of the world’s land habitats remain properly intact. The remaining fragments of wilderness where flora and fauna remain unspoiled are mainly in parts of.