 A leading professor has warned a large Covid wave could hit this September as children go back to school and adults return to the office after the summer holidays. Writing an op-ed in the British Medical Journal, University College London professor Christina Pagel said waning protection from vaccines in under 50s, most of whom have not had a dose for 18 months, and under 75s who were last jabbed in 2022, has left the population more susceptible to the latest Omicron substrains. This, combined with the autumn back-to-school period and more time spent indoors, could drive a large wave in the coming weeks. 'Given protection from vaccines and past infection, it is unlikely that this wave will cause a large surge in hospital admissions or deaths,' said Professor Pagel, who also sits on the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). 'However, any increase in hospital burden is bad news, given record waiting lists for diagnosis and treatment and persistently high waits in hospitals for admission. 'Infection is also not harmless simply because it's causing fewer hospital admissions – long Covid remains an ongoing significant problem, damaging people's lives, such as through persistent fatigue or brain fog, as well as taking them out of the workforce.' The year to date has seen much smaller waves than witnessed in 2022, which was driven by different Omicron variants. Professor Pagel suggests this is because new Omicron substrains 'have not been sufficiently different to drive very large waves in the presence of a highly vaccinated and highly previously infected population'. The Omicron variant led to a surge in cases last year (Picture: Getty) However, she did highlight the discovery of a new, as yet unnamed variant found in Israel and Denmark in recent days. '[This] has caught the attention of many experts because it has so many new mutations, some long associated with increased fitness and immu){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A leading professor has warned a large Covid wave could hit this September as children go back to school and adults return to the office after the summer holidays.
Writing an op-ed in the British Medical Journal, University College London professor Christina Pagel said waning protection from vaccines in under 50s, most of whom have not had a dose for 18 months, and under 75s who were last jabbed in 2022, has left the population more susceptible to the latest Omicron substrains.
This, combined with the autumn back-to-school period and more time spent indoors, could drive a large wave in the coming weeks.
‘Given protection from vaccines and past infection, it is unlikely that this wave will cause a large surge in hospital admissions or deaths,’ said Professor Pagel, who also sits on the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).