A devastating flu season is expected this winter, which experts fear could combine with rising Covid cases to create a dangerous “twindemia” situation.
There are concerns it could overwhelm the embattled NHS trying to deal with registration delays and waiting times.
Southern Hemisphere statistics, which generally predict what will happen in the UK, indicate flu outbreaks two months earlier than normal, driven by people in their 30s.
A rise in hospital admissions for flu in Britain could begin in October, including many children. One estimate is that the flu season may be twice as long as normal.
In addition, the UK’s Health Protection Agency has warned that Covid infections could increase in the coming weeks due to an increase in respiratory infections.
Jamie Lopez Pernell, UKHSA’s consultant epidemiologist for prevention and countermeasures, said: “Due to the increased circulation of respiratory viruses during the winter months, we can expect an increase in Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks.
“We are asking all contacts to come forward and accept their backup when asked to jab. The NHS booking system is now open to immunocompromised and over-75s.
Sir Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases at Oxford University, said: Glass: “It could come earlier and bigger, so you have a ‘twinemic’ with Covid-19 that could put real pressure on the NHS.”
In a typical season, there are 15,000 to 30,000 flu hospitalizations.
Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cell microbiology at the University of Reading, said: “Never for us [flu and Covid] Double blast so I’m worried this season will be bad in England. Catching flu and covid together is especially dangerous.
“We have an NHS under enormous pressure [from the pandemic] So you have a problem there.
There are fears that Covid cases are already rising in some parts of the UK as infections rise in Scotland, according to the latest figures.
In Scotland, 113,500 people may have tested positive for Covid in the past week, or one in 45 – up from 104,400, or one in 50, according to the ONS. Meanwhile, trends in Wales and Northern Ireland were described as ‘uncertain’ by the ONS.
Across the UK, the ONS estimated there were 881,200 people in private households with coronavirus in the week ending September 5. That was down from 944,700 in the previous week, and the lowest figure since the seven days to September 25 last year.
Dr Clarke added: “I think this should be taken as a warning that the number of infections will soon start to rise, where they are not already. We can’t say for sure what impact this will have on hospitals because we don’t yet have a good idea of how well society will be protected from serious illness.
“Of course, this could be exacerbated by combining it with seasonal flu, which is something we haven’t really experienced yet.”
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