As UK residents continue to live a mostly normal life after months of lockdowns and restrictions, the race is on to vaccinate the population before the Delta variant takes hold.

The country is bracing for a potential third wave of Covid-19 infections…despite nearly two-thirds of British adults now fully vaccinated.

Hospitalisations and deaths are also climbing back up – however, they are at a slower rate, because of the vaccine.

All eyes are on Britain now – as the world waits to see the battle between vaccines and emerging new covid variants.

As the nation now heads into its final vaccination rollout phase, it will offer jabs to anyone over the age of 18.

Britain’s health secretary says he sees “no reason” to push back the proposed new opening-up date of July 19.

It comes as Boris Johnson says he believes it is “very likely” the UK ” will return “to life as it was before Covid, as far as possible.”

But other countries remain uncertain, with many imposing new restrictions on arrivals from the U-K in a bid to keep the Delta variant away.

What is happening in Australia?

For the past year, Australia had mostly achieved a “Covid normal” where people could visit restaurants and nightclubs and join crowds at festivals and theatres.

Sydney – Australia’s biggest and richest city – managed to avoid regular snap lockdowns helped by a “gold standard” contact-tracing system.

But in the past fortnight, the Delta variant has managed to breach the city’s defences. In one week, positive cases have ballooned to more than 100.

Sydney, Darwin, Perth and Brisbane – all capital cities – are now in lockdown.

More than 20 million Australians, around 80% of the population, are living under restrictions – the highest number since a national lockdown at the start of the pandemic.

In an emergency meeting on Monday, federal and state governments attempted to plug the holes by expanding vaccine access.

Experts note that Delta is a “formidable foe” due to its high infection rates.

Experts warn that Delta is likely to have changed Australia’s Covid landscape for good.

With mass vaccination unachievable until 2022, and Australians continuing to return home from abroad, Delta’s threat will linger, experts say.