18 December 2023 , 10:06
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Experts are warning the latest Covid surge could well be one of the worst for symptoms since the vaccine rollout.
A potent strain of coronavirus is reportedly circulating in the UK, seizing upon our low levels of immunity. Positive cases of the virus are currently spiking across the country, with 5,975 people testing positive in England in the week leading to December 9 - an increase of 38.6 per cent compared to the seven days before.
Immunity specialists say Covid is still causing infections with potentially more severe symptoms than seen in prior waves. According to BBC News, reduced antibody levels and waning immunity contribute to the risk of more intense infections. Professor Eleanor Riley, an immunologist at the University of Edinburgh, shared her firsthand experience, describing a 'horrid' bout of Covid far worse than she expected. She explained: "People's antibody levels against Covid are probably as low now as they have been since the vaccine was first introduced. With lower antibody levels, a higher dose of the virus is penetrating and causing more severe illness."
Prof Peter Openshaw, from Imperial College London, said: "The thing that made the huge difference before was the very wide and fast rollout of vaccines - even young adults managed to get vaccinated, and that made an absolutely huge difference". With fewer people being offered a booster vaccine this winter, Prof Openshaw said it's possible that a lot of people could end up having a "pretty nasty illness that is going to knock them out for several days or weeks".
"I'm also hearing of people having nasty bouts of Covid, who are otherwise young and fit," he continued. "It's a surprisingly devious virus, sometimes making people quite ill and occasionally leading to having 'long Covid."
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"The viruses circulating now are pretty distant immunologically from the original virus which was used to make the early vaccines, or which last infected them. A lot of people have very little immunity to the Omicron viruses and their variants."
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