British health officials on Wednesday warned that increased circulation of flu and a resurgence in COVID-19 could lead to a difficult winter that increases pressure on the already stretched National Health Service (NHS).
Warnings over a possible "twindemic" of COVID-19 and flu have been issued each winter since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, but COVID restrictions that limited social contact have meant flu levels stayed low.
However, the government ended coronavirus restrictions earlier this year, meaning that social contact rates have returned to near pre-pandemic norms while immunity to flu is relatively low.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that given the risk it was important those eligible took up vaccines against COVID and flu.
"There are strong indications we could be facing the threat of widely circulating flu, lower levels of natural immunity due to less exposure over the last three winters and an increase in COVID-19 circulating," said Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at UKHSA.
After falling over the summer, there are signs that COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations are starting to tick up, and Hopkins said lots of variants currently circulating could evade the immune response to some extent.
Around 33 million people are eligible for a free flu vaccine this year, and 26 million are eligible for a COVID-19 booster. The elderly and clinically vulnerable are eligible for both, and young children can get flu shots.
If concerns about a so-called twindemic materialise, it will heighten pressure on Britain's already stretched hospitals, which are bidding to catch up with procedures delayed during the pandemic and struggling with a staffing crisis.
On Tuesday, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said he was really worried with how many lives were at risk this winter given the strain on the NHS.
(Reuters)
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During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)