The BBC is at long last reporting on Delta variant AY.4.2, but they’re playing it down – the BBC really is just a government propaganda channel these days.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-58965650

Things that are wrong with this report:

• The BBC claims 6% of “current infections”, but by using “latest official data” the BBC manages to report a figure that is a month out of date. Latest sequencing figures (which will become the official figure once they have worked their way through various offices) is 10%.
• The BBC claim that transmission advantage is 10% over standard Delta, but the best figures give 15% to 25%.
• The BBC claim “it is not yet considered a variant of concern, or a variant under investigation” – of course it bloody is, all descendent variants of Delta are variants of concern!
• The BBC claim “experts say it is unlikely to take off in a big way…” but it is already taking off in a big way; you only need to look at the sequencing data – the official data will jump from 6% to 10% when the next monthly report comes out. Of course, you can always find an “expert” who says the opposite if you make enough ‘phone calls, and the BBC have found…
• Professor Bollox, sorry Balloux, but has picked up the nickname Bollox in the trade because his predictions have been so poor. This is a prof who advised against early lockdown that would have been shorter, far more effective and saved tens of thousands of lives.

Incredibly, you’d get a better idea of what’s going on in the UK from the Israeli press; the Times of Israel covered AY.4.2 far more accurately, and over a week earlier.