According to experts, Britain is now in the midst of a ‘devastating’ new Covid wave that could destroy the NHS this winter.
According to preliminary data, new subtypes of Omicron are “evolving around the immunity” that was developed through immunizations and Covid infections.
As the cold season approaches, experts assert that the new immune-evasive versions could cause “serious problems” for the “already on its knees” NHS.
The dire warning comes as the number of instances of the autumn Covid epidemic in the United Kingdom increased by 14% during the week ending September 17.
In the most recent poll, approximately 1,1 million individuals tested positive for the virus, indicating the first continuous increase since mid-July, when the summer wave peaked and ministers faced calls to reinstate pandemic-era restrictions.
Officials assert that a decline in testing and insufficient surveillance of novel immune-evasive subvariants have created the “perfect storm” for another Covid outbreak.
The graph depicts the overall number of Covid patients in England’s hospitals every day, broken down by those who were hospitalized due to Covid illness (blue line) and those who were given a bed for another illness but tested positive for Covid (pink line)
The immune-evasive versions of the virus are already causing a rise in infections, according to Covid experts.
Professor Tim Spector, co-founder of the Covid ZOE app, told The Independent: ‘It appears like we’re at the beginning of the second wave, and this time it has hit older people slightly earlier than the last wave.’
He explained that symptoms are also manifesting slightly differently than in previous variations, which is why many infected persons do not seek Covid testing.
Prof. Spector claimed, “Many people continue to erroneously rely on government rules regarding symptoms.”
‘Currently, two-thirds of those with a sore throat develop Covid. Now because fever and loss of smell are so uncommon, many elderly individuals may not suspect they have Covid. They would say it is a cold and refuse testing.’
Professor of virology at the University of Warwick, Lawrence Young, echoed, “We’ve really lost sight of the ball with Covid tests.” We can only find variations or know what’s coming by sequencing PCR test results, and this practice is not nearly as prevalent as it was a year ago.
People will contract a variety of infections this winter, but they won’t know what they are because there are no free diagnostic tests accessible. This will be a problem.
‘Another perspective is economic pressure. People who feel ill are unlikely to take time off from work. You have a perfect storm of insufficient surveillance, individuals not seeking immunization, and the current economic climate.’
Wednesday at 8 a.m., according to Covid hospitalisation data, there were 7,024 infected patients occupying hospital beds, a 37 percent increase over the previous week and the biggest number in more than two months. Since mid-July, the number of patients has been declining from a peak of 14,000, which was sparked by the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5. This downturn, however, halted in mid-September.
The newest versions of Omicron, BA.2.75.2 developed from BA.2 and BQ1.1 derived from BA.5, have also evaded the immune system, according to health specialists.
Prof. Young told the newspaper, “What’s remarkable about these variants is that although they’ve evolved in slightly different ways, they’ve made the same alterations to circumvent the body’s immune system.”
‘What we’ve discovered is that the virus is adapting to the immunity that has been built up through vaccines and innumerable infections’
As winter approaches, Professor Tim Spector (pictured), co-founder of the Covid ZOE app, claims the new immune-evasive variations might cause “serious problems” for the “already on its knees” NHS.
He continued, ‘The greatest cause for concern is that, according to preliminary statistics, these variations are beginning to produce a minor increase in infections.
‘In a way, this was to be expected, but it demonstrates that we’re not out of the woods with this virus just yet,’ the author writes.
Ahead of the approaching winter, the two professors have urged the government to send’stronger and more proactive messages’
Prof. Young, echoing the demands of public health specialists, urged individuals to obtain their booster shots, emphasizing that the new bivalent vaccination boosters combat numerous variations, which is “crucial” to preventing a “devastating wave.”
He did concede that there are still uncertainties over the effectiveness of immunization in preventing susceptible persons from becoming unwell.
The virologist also advocated for the reinstatement of masking in ‘crowded indoor places’ and ‘poorly ventilated’ areas.
Professor Denis Kinane, an immunologist who created the Covid testing company Cignpost Diagnostic, also expressed concern on the lack of free testing in the United Kingdom.
“Cases are currently on the rise, but we do not yet know the full scope of what autumn and winter will bring,” he said.
‘However, with mass-participation events such as the World Cup taking place in November, international travel growing rapidly, varying vaccination levels across the globe, and most countries having relaxed entry requirements, an increase in cases and the emergence of newer strains cannot be ruled out.’
Statistics provided by the NHS on Friday revealed a 48 percent weekly increase in the number of infected individuals requiring treatment in England.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which monitors the magnitude of the outbreak, believes that the number of cases has increased by 12 percent over the course of three days, indicating that hospital pressure is nowhere near its peak.
An estimated 860,000 persons in England are believed to carry Covid.
Since mid-July, when the summer wave peaked and ministers faced requests to reinstate pandemic-era restrictions, this report shows the first continuous increase.
All summer long, hospitals have been inundated. Care backlogs have reached record levels, individuals have been murdered by ambulance delays, and thousands have been forced to wait in line for almost 12 hours in overcrowded A&E wards.
One NHS trust in Nottinghamshire has already begun canceling regular operations due to the ongoing issue, which is mostly caused by a lack of staff. According to managers, rationing care is the only way to ensure that severely ill patients receive immediate care.
Covid and influenza are anticipated to combine to create a ‘twindemic’, which leaders fear will increase as ordinary winter stresses begin to bite.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, director of public health initiatives at the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA), told the Independent that it is “obvious” that Covid levels are rising.
She stated, “Cases have begun to rise and hospitalizations among the elderly are on the rise.” In the coming weeks, we anticipate a double threat posed by low immunity, extensively spreading flu, and Covid-19, resulting in an unpredictable winter and added strain on health services.
However, Sarah Crofts, the ONS’s deputy director for the Covid-19 infection study, responded that it is “too early to determine if this is the beginning of a new wave.”
The infection data also reveals an increase in cases in every region of the nation, but the ONS cautioned that the trend in the East Midlands and the South West is uncertain. The West Midlands, the North East, and Yorkshire and the Humber had the greatest rates of infection.
The incidence of the virus grew across all age groups, with the highest rates among those aged 50 and older and those aged 16 to 49.
Concerns about the potential for a new wave arise just weeks after the British Medical Journal (BMJ) was accused of giving extreme Covid scientists too much weight and running the risk of being biased in its “Covid inquiry.”
Beginning in September, the British Medical Journal published a multi-part series examining the government’s response to the pandemic.
Editors guaranteed that stories will examine both accomplishments and shortcomings.
Yet practically all of the published articles have relied mainly on members of a left-leaning group of experts known as Independent SAGE, which has consistently criticized No. 10 for abandoning restraints too soon.
The self-appointed body publicly advocated for a Christmas lockdown last year and asked for the return of mask mandates during April’s Omicron revival, despite the fact that both waves subsided organically without harming the NHS.
Influential members of Independent SAGE, including an active Communist party member dubbed “Stalin’s nanny,” have previously compared the administration of Covid to children to child abuse.
The BMJ, a 180-year-old newspaper, defended its decision to promote the organization so prominently, despite calls from leading specialists to broaden its scope and stop its reliance on ‘like-minded’ voices.
Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, scientific arguments on how best to combat Covid have shifted dramatically, with vaccines reducing the threat of the virus by transforming it into something that more closely resembles influenza — a seasonal virus that the United States is familiar with.
Professor Karol Sikora, a world-renowned oncologist and one of the first to openly warn about the collateral effects of lockdowns, expressed concern that the BMJ may portray too much of one side of the argument.
“Denial of lockdown harms is pointless, regardless of whether you agreed with every restriction,” he told MailOnline.
We require a thorough analysis of what went good and what went wrong.
Investigations undertaken by people who represent only one side of a discussion will yield negligible results.