Scientists at University College London estimate the total population‘s immunity is at 87 per cent, with the current threshold for herd immunity at 93 per cent due to the contagious delta variant.

Being so close to the threshold should make it harder for the virus to transmit.

Dr David Matthews, a virologist and coronaviruses expert from the University of Bristol, told The Telegraph: ‚In terms of herd immunity – by which we mean the virus has managed to reach everybody and therefore most people will have a level of immune memory – I suspect we‘re very close to it.