General Covid 19 news

[SteveH]

England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty has told the Covid inquiry that the first lockdown in March 2020 was imposed "a bit too late".

But he said the government had "no good options" at the time.

Public health issues - such as loneliness, depression and the risk of aggravating poverty - meant it was important to be cautious, he said.

It meant there was a risk of going too early as well as going too late.

Sir Chris also conceded he would do other things differently, in hindsight, as the coronavirus was just beginning to spread in early March.

These included:
Banning mass gatherings, such as football matches, sooner
Introducing quarantine for travellers from China earlier than happened....................... 

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67484656

[SteveH]

Random swab testing is restarting in the UK due to concerns about a new Covid-19 variant that could cause a winter surge in infections. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reports that the JN.1 variant has been the fastest-growing variant for at least eight months.

The Office for National Statistics has resumed random testing amid early indications that 1.2 per cent of the population had the virus in the last week of November, up from one per cent the previous week. However, despite worries, Covid-19 rates in the UK are still low.

The UKHSA is now closely monitoring JN.1, which accounts for one in 13 cases detected. Designated as an official variant (V-23DEC-01), 302 cases of the strain have been identified in the UK so far. JN.1 has a mutation suggesting it could better evade immunity, emphasising the importance of recent vaccination for protection.

cont https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/covid-testing-restarts-as-new-fast-growing-strain-could-trigger-a-winter-wave/

[SteveH]

People in England will be able to book all their routine vaccinations on a mobile app or online within the next three years under NHS plans.

Health bosses want to build on the Covid vaccination programme in order to increase uptake of other potentially life-saving jabs.

Currently, jabs other than for flu and Covid must be booked over the phone.

NHS England also wants to increase community outreach in areas where the take-up of some jabs is low.

Under the plans, 16 jabs for vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and human papillomavirus (HPV), will be available to book online by the end of 2026.

The new booking system will generate vaccination invitations and appointment alerts.

It will also allow people to view their, and their children's, medical and vaccination records online.

Health Minister Maria Caulfield said: "To ensure as many people get vaccinated as possible, we need to make sure the programme fits around people's lives."

She said the plans also aimed "to reach people who would not typically come forward for their jabs".

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67694023

[SteveH]

Protect yourself this winter with flu and Covid-19 vaccinations
Now is the time to accept your offer of flu and Covid-19 vaccination - and it's never been easier to get protected

Flu and Covid-19 are respiratory viruses that thrive in the winter, with the very young, those with a health condition and the very old particularly vulnerable to further complications from having flu or Covid-19.

Those eligible are being asked to come forward now to have their vaccinations before the peak of the flu season begins and to get an extra layer of protection this winter.

Last year in Wales nearly 3,000 people were hospitalised with the flu. The peak of the flu season often coincides with the greatest pressures on our hospitals and families getting together for the festive season ? so the message is clear, don?t delay your vaccination.

Help protect friends and family this festive season and ensure you stay fit and well to enjoy the celebrations.

It?s never been easier to get protected with walk-in clinics now becoming available. Visit the Public Health Wales website to find out eligibility and how to get vaccinated in your local area. NHS Wales........https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/



cont article ... https://www.dailypost.co.uk/special-features/protect-yourself-winter-flu-covid-28282743

[SteveH]

Why Covid is still flooring some people

What is it like to catch Covid now? It is a question I have been pondering since a friend was surprised by how roughed up they were by it. Their third bout of Covid was significantly worse than the previous time they caught it.

"I thought every time you catch an illness it's supposed to be a bit better each time?" was the message from his sickbed.

That has certainly been said a lot during the pandemic. But I also know work colleagues and people I have interviewed or chatted to at the school gates, who have been hit hard by Covid in the past few months.

A familiar tale has been a week of coughing, headaches or fever followed by a lingering fatigue.

It is important to stress that Covid has always caused a wide range of symptoms. Even before vaccines, some lucky people barely got sick or did not even develop symptoms.

For some of us, Covid is just a sniffle - not even enough to make you go digging around in the bathroom cabinet to see if there is a lateral flow test hiding in there.

But scientists specialising in our immune system warn Covid is still causing stonking infections that may be worse than before and knock us out for weeks.

So what is going on?..................  cont   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67726685

[SteveH]

Covid will leave lots of people 'knocked out for weeks' this winter, expert warns
The leading professor said many people will have to endure 'a pretty nasty illness'

Covid will leave lots of people "knocked out for several days or weeks" this winter, an expert has warned. The leading medical professor predicted many people will become "nastily" ill with the virus in the coming months.

Professor Peter Openshaw, of Imperial College London, made the claim in an interview with the BBC. He was talking about the rising risk of worsening bouts of Covid due to most people having fewer antibodies to protect them against disease, reports WalesOnline.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/covid-leave-lots-people-knocked-28309731

[SteveH]

JN.1 Covid variant: WHO charts its rapid global spread

A sub-variant of the Omicron strain of coronavirus has been classified as a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organization, because of "its rapidly increasing spread".

JN.1 has been found in many countries around the world, including India, China, UK and the United States.

The risk to the public is currently low and current vaccines continue to offer protection, the WHO says.

But it warns Covid and other infections could rise this winter.

Respiratory viruses such as flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and childhood pneumonia are also on the rise in the northern hemisphere.

JN.1 is spreading fast in all regions, probably because it has an additional mutation in the spike protein compared to the BA.2.86 variant from which it's descended.

"It is anticipated that this variant may cause an increase in Sars-Cov-2 [coronavirus] cases amid a surge of infections of other viral and bacterial infections, especially in countries entering the winter season," the WHO's risk assessment says.

There is still limited evidence on how capable JN.1 is of getting round the immunity offered by vaccines, the WHO says.

There are no reports of people becoming more ill with this variant than previous ones.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67772390

[SteveH]

'Long flu': Study finds patients at higher risk of ongoing illness and disease
Elaine Blackburne says experts have learned that it isn't just coronavirus that can have long-term effects

We could suffer from 'long flu' in a similar fashion to long Covid, with a nasty bout of the virus potentially causing long-term health issues, according to new research. It examined how our bodies respond to attacks from multiple viruses, and a study revealed that people admitted to hospital with flu or Covid had a higher risk of dying over the next 18 months.

It was discovered that the time of greatest risk was 30 days or later after the first infection. During the pandemic, the public learned that it wasn't just the initial effects of Covid-19 that could impact people's health, as reports soon emerged that some patients had not recovered quickly, with some people still suffering from long-term health problems years later,

cont  https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/long-flu-study-finds-patients-at-higher-risk-of-ongoing-illness-and-disease/

[SteveH]

Almost 100 people admitted into Welsh hospitals with Covid ahead of Christmas
A total of 17 admissions were recorded in North Wales

Almost 100 people were admitted to Welsh hospitals with coronavirus in the lead-up to Christmas. Figures from Public Health Wales showed 94 people were admitted to hospital in Wales with the virus in the week leading up to December 24.

Five of those were admitted to critical care. It marks a slight increase compared with the previous week, where 91 people were admitted,

There is no testing programme for people suspected of having coronavirus in Wales, but people admitted to hospital with symptoms of the virus and who need treatment do get tested. Public Health Wales publishes weekly data relating to the number of coronavirus cases in Welsh hospitals.

The cases are broken down into three categories that are all hospital confirmed cases of coronavirus. The categories are community-acquired, hospital-acquired, and indeterminate acquisition.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/almost-100-people-admitted-welsh-28364018?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Expert warns cases of new Covid variant could surge this week
He predicts Covid will be a recurring problem we have to combat 'forever'

An expert has warned we could see a surge in Covid cases this week as children return to school. The infections and immunity expert warned a surge in cases of a new coronavirus strain is on the cards.

The dominant JN.1 Covid variant is particularly infectious and has soared to make up 51.4% of all UK Covid cases, as of Christmas Day. This makes it three times as common as the second biggest strain, according to the CovSpectrum database.

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity at the University of Oxford, said the increase in flu cases is also causing issues. He added that he predicts Covid will be a recurring problem we have to combat "forever",

 "The one point of caution there is that with viruses you have to have people together to spread them. We always see a drop in cases over holiday periods.

"So it?s actually what?s going to happen next as children go back to school on Monday, and most people have taken time off over New Year and are starting to go back to work. There is likely to be a rise in infections in the population over the course of the next week."

Full article  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/expert-warns-cases-new-covid-28410158

[SteveH]

Long Covid costs the UK at least an extra ?23m in GP and other primary care consultations each year, according to estimates in a new study.

The University of Birmingham said extra appointments cost between ?23m and ?60m a year.

The study examined more than 950,000 electronic healthcare records since the start of the global pandemic.

People with long Covid report symptoms including persistent coughs and brain fog.

The condition is defined as having symptoms three months after the initial infection, which last for two months or more.

Analysis of the economic impact of long Covid has been published in BMC Primary Care - a peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on primary health care research.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-67947895

[SteveH]

More than 7,000 Covid-related hospital admissions could have been prevented in the UK in the summer of 2022 if the population had received the full number of jabs recommended, according to research in The Lancet.

Some 44% of the UK population was under-vaccinated, with younger people among the most likely to skip doses.

In a first, health records for everyone over five in the UK were analysed.

The same approach could now be used to understand other diseases.

The entire population of the UK is 67 million, and all those over the age of five had their anonymised electronic health data analysed for The Lancet study.

It found that between June and September 2022, the percentage of people not fully vaccinated against Covid was:

49.8% in Northern Ireland
45.7% in England
34% in Scotland
32.8% Wales
And that was based on the number of Covid vaccine doses recommended for different groups:

one dose for five to 11-year-olds
two doses for 12 to 15-year-olds
three doses for 16 to 74-year-olds
four doses for over-75s
more than four for those vulnerable or shielding or with particular health conditions

With about 40,000 severe hospital admissions related to Covid during that summer, the research estimates that more than 7,000 - 17% - would have been avoided if everyone had taken up the offer of the vaccine and booster doses for which they were eligible.

The research used data on Covid vaccinations and tests, as well as from GPs and hospitals, to track health data for the whole population. They then looked at the relationship between the under-vaccinated and severe Covid illness.

They found that under-vaccinated people over-75 were more than twice as likely to be seriously ill with Covid than those who were fully protected.

There was also a link between skipping doses and hospitalisation and death rates in all age groups studied.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67980238

[SteveH]

Coronavirus cases in Wales as people offered booster vaccine
Cases appear to have passed their peak after they reached a high at the beginning of January but hospital admissions remain consistent

More than 70 people were admitted to hospital with coronavirus in the last week, new Public Health Wales data has shown. In the seven days leading up to February 4 a total of 74 people were admitted to hospital with Covid. This is the same as the reporting period from the week before where 74 people were admitted in the week up to January 28.

A further three people with coronavirus were admitted to critical care, down on the four admitted the week prior. In the seven days up to February 3 there were 17 suspected coronavirus deaths in people with lab-confirmed infections reported to PHW, up on the 11 in the week prior.

cont https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-cases-wales-people-offered-28595997?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

There were 48 people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in the last week, according to data from Public Health Wales. In the seven days leading up to February 11, 48 people were admitted to hospital with Covid, and a further eight people were admitted to critical care.

This is a decrease on the week before where 74 people were hospitalised with the virus. However, the week prior to this week, just three people were admitted to critical care with Covid, compared to the eight reported in the most recent update.

In the seven days leading up to February 10, there were 11 suspected coronavirus deaths in Wales. The week before, there were 17 suspected Covid deaths.

cont https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/number-people-being-taken-hospital-28638487?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Covid variant with more than 30 mutations 'under monitoring' by health chiefs
The variant is being monitored closely, as it could have the ability to spread quickly

A new Covid strain with more than 30 mutations is under careful watch by health chiefs in the USA and Europe after it emerged in South Africa. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has classified the strain as 'under monitoring'.

In the States, the Centres For Disease Control has confirmed it is tracking the new BA.2.87.1 variant. A number of cases have been discovered in South Africa, with concerns that, in a similar manner to its predecessor, BA.2.86, it may spread quickly. BA.2.86 was also known as Pirola and rapidly became a dominant strain.

It has been reported that the new strain has more than 30 changes in the spike protein, meaning it could potentially spread quickly due to the additional mutations. If it has the ability to spread more easily, it may surpass JN-1 as the dominant strain in some nations.

cont https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/covid-variant-with-more-than-30-mutations-under-monitoring-by-health-chiefs/