Christmas is coming, party season is upon us, and for the first time since 2019 the government grinches aren’t telling us what to do. For two successive festive seasons during the pandemic, officials across the UK issued rules to limit Covid’s spread. This year, there are none. Off you go, enjoy yourselves.
But, while normality is hugely welcome, Covid has not gone away. Infections, while much lower than at their peak, are rising; the number of people in hospital with Covid in England rose by 22% in the past week alone, while admissions for flu are even higher. Meanwhile, the huge cost of long Covid to the country’s health and productivity is ever more apparent. What does it mean for this holiday season? We asked the experts.
Do I really have to worry about Covid again this Christmas?
Within reason, yes, says Dr Helen Salisbury, a GP, senior medical education fellow at Oxford University and member of the Independent Sage advisory group. “Some people still get very ill, especially the clinically vulnerable who have not responded to vaccines, and even if that’s not you, you might make someone else ill if you catch Covid and pass it on.”
But isn’t it just like a cold these days?
Mercifully, for many healthy people it is. But “even in this post-vaccination period and with so-called mild Omicron subvariants, an additional 750,000 have succumbed to long Covid and its associated disabilities during 2022”, says Salisbury, “and this is often in people who were fine after previous infections.”
OK then – what should I do?
The most important thing is to get up to date with your vaccines, according to Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at Edinburgh University and the chief social policy adviser to the Scottish government.
Being fully vaccinated won’t fully protect you from infection, but it significantly lowers the risk of illness, she says, adding that this applies equally for the flu jab.
Currently only those over 50 are routinely eligible for a seasonal (autumn) Covid booster (along with healthcare workers, care home residents, immuno-suppressed people and some others). But uptake has fallen markedly since the first wave of immunisation, and many remain hesitant – 39.5% of people of Black Caribbean origin, for instance, are still unvaccinated.
Getting all the jabs available to you, says Bauld, “also means you reduce your risk of long Covid, because we know that people who have symptomatic Covid, and particularly who become unwell – those are the ones who are getting long Covid”.
But what about the Christmas party I’m going to this evening?
“The first thing I would say is, go for it,” says Bauld. “It’s brilliant that we can socialise – let’s do that with gusto while we’re well.”
There are caveats of course – mainly, don’t go if you have, or suspect you might have, Covid. Parties can be made safer too, points out Prof Cath Noakes, an expert in ventilating buildings for infection control from the University of Leeds. “There’s evidence that the highest risks are in unventilated and really poorly ventilated rooms. So even just small amounts of ventilation can help.”
Does that apply while I’m hosting Christmas dinner?
Absolutely, she says. “I know it’s hard at the moment [with] the cost of heating. But it’s still really important to think about whether you can let some fresh air in, maybe open the windows intermittently. It can make the difference.” While infection methods aren’t always the same, what helps reduce Covid will also help with other respiratory diseases, she says. “Fresh air is good.”
Should I ask my family to take a Covid test before they come over?
If she was going to visit an elderly or vulnerable relative, Bauld would consider taking a Covid test, she says, “but that’s because I’ve still got some in my house. I don’t think, in a cost of living crisis, we should be advising people to test who have to pay for them.”
That said, if you can afford it, your vulnerable guests are likely to be grateful. Just don’t rely on them entirely, says Salisbury. “It’s important to remember that sometimes Covid tests don’t turn positive until several days into an illness – so if you are unwell, don’t put others at risk and do carry on testing.”
What about masks?
“We know masks work [in preventing the spread of respiratory illnesses],” says Noakes – particularly a well-fitting FFP2. “You’re probably not going to want to wear your mask at the party. But wearing it when you’re travelling on the bus to the party – maybe that is a good idea because it gives you and other people some protection.
“You just have to look at how overwhelmed hospitals are, the numbers of respiratory infections they’ve got at the moment to deal with. And Covid hasn’t gone away. People are trying to pretend it has but it really hasn’t.”
