Health bosses have issued a warning to three groups of people amid a rise in cases of COVID-19 in the UK. The NHS is calling on all eligible people to come forward for their spring vaccination against the virus.
Latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show there was a 21.2 percent increase in Covid cases in England in the week up to April 30.
Hospital admissions due to Covid also increased to 2.56 per 100,000 compared to 1.97 per 100,000 in the previous week, as reported by The Mirror.
But intensive-care unit admissions due to the virus remained low and stable – most recently at 0.07 people per 100,000. Currently, the highest hospital admission rate regionally is in the North East of England, at 3.90 per 100,000.
Those aged 85 years and over had the highest hospital admission rate, although the figure remains stable.
Meanwhile, hospital admissions due to Covid-19 slightly increased across the rest of the age groups – including those aged between 65 and 84.
As a result, the NHS is calling for three groups to come forward as the spring 2024 COVID-19 vaccination programme has rolled out.
These groups include adults aged 75 years and over by June 30, older adults in care homes and people aged six months and over who are immunosuppressed are eligible for the vaccine.
Dr Mary Ramsay, director of public health programmes at the UKHSA, said: “Once again, COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations have risen this week, so now is the time to get your COVID-19 spring vaccine if you’re eligible and haven’t already.
“The COVID-19 vaccine offers the best protection to those at risk as the virus spreads.
“If you’re 75 years old or older, a resident in a care home for older adults, or have a weakened immune system – book online at nhs.uk/get-vaccine or call 119 if you don’t have access to the internet.
“You don’t have to wait for the NHS to get in touch with you.
“If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or flu, try to stay at home as it helps protect others, especially those who are more vulnerable to these viruses.
“If you are unable to stay at home when unwell, consider wearing a mask.”
This vaccination programme will end on 30 June 2024.
It comes as a new Covid strain thought to be behind a sudden rise in cases around the world is feared to be “harder to stop” with increased immunity to current vaccines.
This strain has been dubbed FLiRT after the technical name for its mutation, and is linked to subvariants KP.2 and KP.1.1.
KP.2 currently makes up for around a quarter of all Covid cases in the US, and is thought to have the potential to become the dominant variant there.
Its sister, KP.1.1 now accounts for 7.5 percent of positive cases in the
Although there are no longer isolation rules in place in the UK, if you test positive the NHS recommends staying home and avoiding contact with others for five days.