A health expert has warned people to look out for a 'strange' symptom linked to a new strain of coronavirus.
Covid-19 infections in the UK have jumped by nearly 800,000 in a week, with some parts of the country nearing the record levels seen during the spring. Hospital numbers are also continuing to increase, driven by the spread of the latest coronavirus subvariants Omicron BA.4 and BA.5.
However, according to Trinity College professor, Luke O’Neill, Omicron BA.5 could be presenting itself in a different way from other variants. Speaking on an Irish radio station, Prof O'Neill said: "One extra symptom for BA.5 I saw this morning is night sweats.
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"The disease is slightly different because the virus has changed. There is some immunity to it, with the T cells and so on, and that mix of your immune system and the virus being slightly different might give rise to a slightly different disease - with strangely enough - night sweats being a feature.”
A total of 3.5 million people in private households are estimated to have had Covid-19 last week, up 29% from 2.7 million the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is the highest estimate for total infections since mid-April but is still below the record of 4.9 million seen at the peak of the Omicron BA.2 wave at the end of March.
Sarah Crofts, ONS head of analytical outputs for the Covid-19 infection survey, said: "Infections are showing no signs of decreasing, with rates approaching levels last seen in March at the peak of the BA.2 wave. Rates have continued to increase across the UK and among all age groups. We will continue to closely monitor the data."
Everyone over the age of 50 will be offered a fresh Covid-19 jab this autumn, to boost protection ahead of possible further waves of the virus, the UK Health Security Agency announced on Friday. Other groups eligible for the dose will include frontline health and social care workers and those aged five to 49 in a clinical risk group, including pregnant women.
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