Scottish hospital admissions of people testing positive for Covid-19 have risen for a second week. New data also shows that admissions to intensive care units have jumped once again.
Public Health Scotland's latest figures show that in the last seven days, 1450 patients with Covid-19, a 26% increase compared to the previous week. Of these, 39 have been admitted to intensive care units, compared to 12 the week before.
The same figures show that Covid-19 cases in Scotland have jumped by over 7000, with 21,914 cases reported in the last seven days, compared to 14,500 the previous week. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), UK wide infections have spiked by more than half a million.
This data is a clear sign that Covid-19 is becoming prevalent once again. There are worries that healthcare workers will face pressures similar to those seen during lockdown, while trying to clear a backlog of operations.
The current wave is being driven by the variants Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which are now the dominant strains of Covid-19 in the UK. These are more transmissible than the BA.2 variant that caused infection levels to reach an all-time high earlier in the year.
Health experts have warned the numbers are likely to carry on rising throughout July, due to a “substantial amount” of waning immunity among older people. Dr Mary Ramsay, UKHSA director of clinical programmes, said: “We continue to see Covid-19 case rates and hospitalisations rise in all age groups, with the largest increases in hospitalisations and ICU admissions in those aged 75 and older.
“There is likely to be a substantial amount of waning immunity in older people who have not taken up the booster on schedule, so we can expect these rises to continue over the coming weeks and throughout July. Vaccination remains the best defence against severe disease and we urge anyone who is eligible for the spring booster to take it up.”
All over-75s in the UK have been offered a “spring booster”, available at least three months after their most recent jab, to ensure they continue to receive the maximum possible protection. Around one in six over-75s (16.0%) have not received any doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the last six months, putting them more at risk of severe disease.
Separate research published on Thursday by the UKHSA based on preliminary analysis of recent infections showed there was “not a large difference in vaccine effectiveness against BA.4 or BA.5 as compared to BA.2”. This suggests “protection conferred by the vaccines likely remains comparable to that observed previously”, with doses helping to reduce the likelihood of serious illness and death.
The total number of people in hospital in England who have tested positive for Covid-19 currently stands at 11,878, up 33% week-on-week. Patient numbers are now around three-quarters of the peak reached during the BA.2 wave, though remain well below levels seen in the early part of the pandemic.
Around six in 10 patients who test positive for Covid-19 are being treated primarily for something else rather than the virus. However they still need to be kept isolated from other patients, putting extra pressure on hospital staff and resources.
The latest estimates of the number of people infected with Covid-19 across the UK will be published on Friday by the Office for National Statistics and are expected to show another increase. A total of 2.3 million people in private households were likely to have had the virus in the week to June 24, the highest estimate since late April but still some way below the record high of 4.9 million at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave.
