Covid is on the rise as experts say England has ‘capitulated’ to the virus

Covid is on the rise in England, and experts have warned that more must be done to prevent and control infections following a ‘capitulation to the virus’.

Professor Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, said those working in the field were stunned by the current attitude to the fight against Covid, as the latest figures showed a rise in hospital admissions.

The latest data for England from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that hospital admissions rose to 3.71 per 100,000 residents in the week between September 16 and 22, 2024, compared to 2.56 per 100,000 the week before.

The percentage of people with symptoms who have tested positive for Covid, based on tests at the Sentinel “spotter” labs, also rose to 11.8% in the past week, up from 9.1% the week before.

Altmann described the prevailing attitude towards the virus as a “capitulation”. “For those working in this field, the current attitude of acceptance towards losing this war of attrition against Covid is confusing and a bit desperate,” he said.

“The data, both in the UK and the US, shows that the current Omicron subvariants are hugely successful in breaking through waning population immunity, such that we are tolerating a huge prevalence of around 12%. Our capitulation to the virus is a combination of a population most of whom are now many months or years away from their last vaccine dose, and in any case that vaccine dose was poorly cross-protective for the very different current variants.

“It is clear that there is behavioral polarization between those who are concerned about this and are looking for mitigation, and those who think we have to live with it and have paid too high a price for our previous measures,” he said .

Dr. Simon Williams, from Swansea University, added that studies suggest there is also a large group of people who don’t think much about Covid at all. “Some of this is psychological – for two to three years it was something that people had to think about all the time and it is something that many had a lot of negative memories and feelings associated with,” he said.

While Altmann said the debate on measures should be well-informed, data-driven and avoid extreme positions, it was important not to downplay the impact of the virus.

“Those on the weaker end of the immune response spectrum can often experience four or more breakthrough infections per year. These can range from mild to those requiring several days of work, with all the associated economic costs, plus any additional NHS burden,” he said.

Altmann also highlighted the impact of the long Covid-19 crisis, noting that it affects some 400 million people worldwide – with 3% workforce losses and a global cost estimate of $1 trillion per year – and even among vaccinated people can occur after reinfection.

The latest Covid data comes as a new variant is expected to enter the market in the coming months. Known as XEC, the disease was first identified in Germany over the summer, and there have been cases as well already identified in Great Britain. It is believed to have emerged from two other Covid variants, themselves descended from the BA.2.86 variant.

However, experts have said soAt this time, XEC is not thought to cause any different symptoms than previous variants and does not appear to lead to an increase in cases. It is also expected that Covid vaccinations and previous infections will continue to provide protection against severe disease.

While bookings for the NHS autumn Covid booster jabs opened this week, Altmann said they should be offered more widely, along with increased use of lateral flow tests to prevent the spread of Covid.

Williams added that it was strange that more had not been done to clean indoor air and improve ventilation in public spaces, including schools.

But while he was in favor of making boosters more widely available, he also expressed concerns: “I worry that we will once again see relatively low booster uptake among priority groups, including younger adults with compromised immune systems, this fall.”