Covid on the rise again as two new Omicron variants infect thousands
SCOTLAND is experiencing another wave of Covid-19 infections as cases of two Omicron variants increase, a public health expert has said.
Professor Linda Bauld was speaking as the latest figures showed the number of Scots believed to have Covid increased to one in 30 last week – up from one in 40 the previous week.
The Office for National Statistics estimates that in the week ending June 11, 176,900 people in Scotland had the virus – about 3.36 per cent of the population.
The estimated Covid rate in Scotland is higher than in England, where it is believed one in 50 people had coronavirus in the week ending June 11, while one in 45 people are estimated to have had the virus in both Wales and Northern Ireland.
Professor Bauld said the Omicron sub-lineages BA.4 and BA.5 are part of the reason for the increase in cases and a ‘small but not significant’ rise in the number of people in hospital.
But she said vaccines are working well in the majority of people and are making a difference between the risk from infection and the risk of severe disease.
Latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed around one in 40 people in Scotland had Covid-19 in the week ending June 2, up from one in 50 the previous week.
Professor Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland: ‘It’s pretty clear from some of the data we’ve seen we are in another wave of infection, if not already it will be soon.
‘That certainly seems to be the case in a number of countries, and that is not a big surprise because we did anticipate we would have a rising level of infections every three or four months potentially.
‘It might be surprising to people though because it’s the summer, and they’re used to hearing from us that the weather is better so people are more outside and therefore we reduce the risks through our behaviour.
‘That’s true, but what we’ve got is Omicron and a different type of it, BA.4 and 5 – there’s these Omicron sub-lineages which seem to be rising in number and I think that’s part of the explanation why we’re beginning to see more cases.
‘We have seen a small but not significant rise in the number of people in hospital as well.’
Professor Bauld said vaccines offer good protection against severe disease, but she thinks it likely the offer of a booster jab may be extended to a wider range of groups in the autumn, beyond what the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended.
The JCVI is recommending care home residents and staff, frontline care workers, those aged 65 and over and adults aged between 16 and 64 who are clinically vulnerable should be given another dose of Covid-19 vaccine in the autumn.
Professor Bauld added: ‘Will we have more people vaccinated in the autumn? Yes, for the over 65s and immuno-suppressed, that’s what JCVI says. Whether they will extend it to those of us in our 50s and other groups is something they are reviewing.
‘If you were to ask me what I think, I think it’s likely they will change that eligibility.’