Covid. What? AGAIN?
Yes, again. While most of us shrug our shoulders, accept new Covid strains – and headlines – as a and simply get on with our lives, for those who are considered vulnerable, or caring for someone who is – it’s not that simple. So, what are these new variants, and how concerned should we be about them?
Yep. It’s back. Just as we were settling back to something approaching normal, the coronavirus has come steaming back into our lives. Step forward Eris and Pirola.
These new strains of the BA.2.86 coronavirus – an Omicron spin-off – are being monitored by the UK’s statutory agencies and a government who are not about to get caught out again. While only five of the 34 confirmed cases of BA.2.86 identified so far in England required hospital treatment, and there have been no deaths so far, no-one is taking this lightly.
Quite right too, you might say. In the week before 9 September, official government data puts the number of people testing positive for Covid in England at 11,688, and the number of deaths (with Covid mentioned on the death certificate at 38.
Both represent an increase of around 30%. No-one should take the wording in the latest UKHSA briefing, which concedes the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 “may be sufficiently transmissible to have impact in close contact settings” as anything other than a warning. We know where this story could end, right?
So, should I be worried?
Well, that depends on which commentators you trust. The World Health Organization (WHO) downgraded Covid to ‘just’ a global health threat just as, over in the US, the Biden administration declared the pandemic over as of May 2023. But life isn’t black and white and in the grey, more than 1,000 Americans die every week from Covid.
The US epidemiologists aren’t convinced either. “When the government sends the messaging that Covid-19 is largely over, I don’t think it’s helpful,” says William Hanage, of Harvard University.
Denis Nash, at the City University of New York, concurs. “This data … really is scary and I think … this is not over.” Sure, that’s the States. But in a connected world where more than 2000 planes cross the Atlantic every day, good news isn’t the only thing that travels fast.
Green and pleasant?
Figures are hard to come by in the UK, simply because testing has been scaled back and statistics are only collated when those carrying the virus report to a health provider with symptoms. In those settings, positive tests are now at the highest rate since the end of April, at 4.6 per 100,000 people.
The NHS are taking no chances and brought forward a top-up vaccine rollout to counter the slight but growing threat. And if you’re considered vulnerable, or care for someone who might be more at risk than others, that’s probably all you need to know. For example, rates remain highest among people aged 85 and over, followed by 75 to 84-year-olds. The NHS criteria for ‘vulnerable’ is right here.
So, what’s the message?
We all recall the sight of Boris Johnson, Dr Chris Whitty et al at podiums during the pandemic to pass on the latest ‘message’ around what we should and shouldn’t be doing, even if that message wasn’t always heeded by the Prime Minister himself.
While the podiums remain in storage, and no-one is pressing the panic button, as the weather gets colder and more people congregate indoors, the opportunities for the virus to spread increase. The advice is simply one of common sense. If you’re likely to be affected, or care for someone who might, taking precautions – such as minimising contact with the public (and wearing a mask when you do) and continuing to monitor the news must be the watchword.
At Coda we’ll be across the latest developments and will be updating our blogs as the story progresses.