Covid cases in Wales at record high
COVID-19 infections remain at a record high in Wales but have fallen across most of the UK, new official figures show.
In Wales, infections have risen for the sixth successive week, with 231,900 people estimated to have had Covid-19 last week, or one in 13 – up slightly from 230,800, also one in 13 – according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
By comparison, England has seen infections drop for the first time in six weeks, with 3.8 million people likely to have had coronavirus last week, or around one in 14. This is down from 4.1 million the previous week, or one in 13.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have also seen levels fall.
But prevalence of the virus remains high across the UK, the ONS said.
A total of 4.4 million people in private households in the UK were likely to have had coronavirus in the seven days to April 9. This is down week-onweek from 4.9 million, which was the highest total since estimates began.
The fall in UK numbers suggests the recent surge in the virus, driven by the Omicron BA.2 variant, may have passed its UK peak.
While Wales continues to experience record levels of infections, Scotland has seen its numbers drop for the third week in a row.
Professor Kevin McConway of the Open University called the figures “encouraging” but warned there were also “continuing reasons for some concern”, particularly the high levels of virus circulating in England and Wales.
Urging caution at a time when there are few legal restrictions in place across the UK, he added: “We do have to learn to live with the virus - but that doesn’t mean ignoring it.
“Let’s all please take sensible personal precautions that reduce the chance of getting infected and passing the infection on, as we enjoy the Easter holidays.”
Meanwhile, First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed that a new Covid vaccine will be used in Wales.
The vaccine, which has been developed by Valneva, has been given regulatory approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The independent medicines regulator is the first in the world to approve the Valneva product, MHRA said in a statement.
The drug has been approved for use in people aged 18 to 50, with two doses to be taken 28 days apart. It can be stored at a normal fridge temperature.
The jab developed by the firm, which has a factory in Livingston near Edinburgh, is the sixth Covid-19 vaccine to be granted an MHRA authorisation.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Drakeford confirmed to BBC Radio Wales: “It will be available to us in Wales, and vaccination remains the single most important thing that any one of us can do in our own lives to protect ourselves and to protect other people.
“Having another vaccine available just makes the system more resilient, and it is good news for Wales.”
With this type of vaccine, the MHRA says the virus is grown in a lab and then made completely inactive so that it cannot infect cells or replicate in the body but can still trigger an immune response to the Covid-19 virus.
This process is widely used already in the production of flu and polio vaccines.