New forecasts from the IMF shows that the UK is still expected to be the fastest growing advanced economy for 2021 at a rate of 6.8%, above the global growth projection of 5.9% and comfortably ahead of the US, France, Germany, Japan and Canada. Welcome news, although this is still a 0.2% cut to their earlier forecast back in July. 

The IMF’s paper says that the effectiveness of the UK’s vaccine rollout is, in large part, responsible for maintaining the UK’s growth – and adds that “great vaccine divide” between high and low income countries poses a serious risk:

“The case of the United Kingdom is instructive in the effectiveness of large-scale vaccination campaigns, even against highly contagious variants.”

“The foremost policy priority is therefore to vaccinate at least 40% of the population in every country by the end of 2021 and 70% by mid-2022.”

The report adds that “widespread vaccinations can also have powerful, positive economic effects, bolstering the recovery.” When you get the call, get the jab…