Covid here to stay and set to hit thousands every winter just like flu

15 October 2023 , 12:13

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Covid is "well on the way" to becoming seasonal (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

With "early signs" showing Covid-19 cases on the rise, it's understandable to be worried about catching the virus.

Since July, Covid has been trending upwards consistently. Despite some blips and dips, it has continued to rise and is seemingly set to still do so. However, experts believe that the virus is changing into just another bug to deal with, such as flu and lesser known bugs like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinovirus and adenovirus. Last winter, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), flu caused more than 14,000 excess deaths last winter, with more than 10,000 children taken to hospital with the illness.

Covid-19 may be turning into something similar to other winter bugs (Getty Images/Image Source)

For Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious-disease expert at the University of East Anglia, this “comes as no surprise.” He told the BBC: “The immunity to serious illness built up from vaccination and infection means the death rate per Covid infection is now well below that of flu.”

While 2022 saw spikes in Covid-19 throughout the year, 2023 isn't seeing the same trend. Instead, there was a more seasonal pattern to the virus, calming down during the warmer months. Covid is "well on the way" to becoming seasonal, Professor Hunter says, with flu likely to cause more deaths from now on. And eventually, Covid will become "just another cause of the common cold", he told the BBC.

For those thinking about a winter lockdown, experts believe that it's seemingly unlikely. Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist from the University of Reading told MailOnline: "The chances of any sort of lockdown or tiered restrictions are vanishingly small," he explained. "That would only be considered if there were an outbreak of a particularly novel, nasty form of flu or a variant of Covid that can overwhelm the immunity currently found in the population. While neither is impossible, they're not worth people losing sleep over."

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