Covid is evolving – but the UK is not doing enough to evolve with it - Professor Sheena Cruickshank, October 2023

Sly Saint · Oct 8, 2023

It may feel like we should all be done with Covid-19, but sadly Covid-19 is not done with us. At the moment, cases in England are rising again, with a 10% rise overall in hospital admissions and the greatest increase in the north of England. With testing reduced, national monitoring paused, the ONS infection survey paused since spring and only recently relaunched, we have much less data about Covid than we ever had before. We know Covid hasn’t stopped evolving, and we have a good idea about what sort of situations might result in new and dangerous mutations, but with less surveillance of emerging variants and spread, we are losing what used to be a near real-time picture of the situation.

This makes it harder to know which variants are driving the increase in cases. The latest estimates suggest there is a soup, with several variants, including some derived from XBB, which emerged last year, as well as EG5.1 (Eris) and a small amount of BA.2.86 (Pirola), both of which were identified in the past few months. It seems as though this virus is ever-changing, and as a reflection of that, new data released in the last few days shows that the so-called Pirola variant has evolved again – and could be more immune-evasive than the XBB-derived variants.

So what drives this virus to change so much and so quickly? As viruses rapidly replicate, they are more prone to acquiring mutations. So the larger the number of infections, the more chance the virus will change. Many countries such as the UK have moved to a position of “living with the virus” without investing in testing, ventilation and infrastructure changes, and masking. Add to this that vaccine coverage and access to boosters is quite limited, and there’s a recipe for many Covid infections – and a greater likelihood of the virus changing.
Click to expand...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/07/covid-19-uk-variants-testing-monitoring-drugs

Ash · Oct 8, 2023

So many lives sacrificed to capitalism and cuts. How can we hope to live under these ever worsening conditions?

Amw66 · Dec 7, 2023

https://twitter.com/user/status/1732547248200802542

Wits_End · Dec 8, 2023

Sounds not unlikely. I went to a Christmas "party" (work-related) in a room above a pub on Friday - it wasn't that heavily populated, thank heavens. A couple of days ago, I - and many others - received an email from the organiser (who had been there) mentioning in passing that she'd do whatever-it-was in a couple of days once her Covid had receded and she could concentrate again. Yep, thanks, N, for not actually sending us an earlier email telling us you'd tested positive. Seems to reflect the attitude to it in the UK at the moment.

I went and got jabbed today ...

Log in or Sign up

Covid is evolving – but the UK is not doing enough to evolve with it - Professor Sheena Cruickshank, October 2023

Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Ash Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Amw66 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Wits_End Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Covid is evolving – but the UK is not doing enough to evolve with it - Professor Sheena Cruickshank, October 2023

Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Ash Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Amw66 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Wits_End Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Share This Page

Useful Searches