That’s the clear warning from scientists and doctors after last week’s figures revealed another dramatic jump in cases. More than 2 million people across Britain were found to be infected in the week ending June 24, an increase of more than 30% on the previous week. And while most experts said they expected the current wave – driven by the Omicron BA4 and BA5 variants of the virus – to peak in a few weeks, they also warned that it would inevitably be followed by another wave this autumn. “Our current planning assumptions are that we will see at least one surge [of Covid] in the autumn-winter period, once we’ve got over the current wave we’re in at the moment,” said Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK’s Health Safety Agency. This view was supported by virologist Professor Lawrence Young of the University of Warwick. “We need to prepare now for the autumn and winter months, when colder weather will drive people indoors, increasing the risk of infection, not only with new Covid variants but also with other respiratory virus infections.” A key component of these formulations will be the selection of those vaccines that will be the most suitable to deal with the next big wave of the disease. Moderna, Pfizer and other drug companies are all working on vaccines that target different Omicron variants in different ways. “However, it will be up to the government to decide which of these versions is best for the country,” said Professor Adam Finn of the University of Bristol. “Officials are likely to be swayed not so much by the data showing which drug looks the most promising for dealing with the new variants, but by which company seems best able to deliver the right number of vaccines on time.” This point was supported by Professor Francois Balloux, director of the Institute of Genetics at University College London. “Obviously, if you wait until the last minute, you’ll have the best chance of designing a vaccine that’s better able to deal with the variant that’s more prevalent, but you don’t want to risk production not providing enough doses in time.” However, Covid-19 is not the only health threat on the horizon. Scientists have warned that pandemic measures – particularly the imposition of lockdowns – used to control Covid-19 are likely to have left the public vulnerable to other diseases such as flu. Finn said, “Basically, we haven’t infected each other with the flu in two years, so we haven’t developed an immunity to it.” He added: “As a result, we are now more vulnerable to flu and are likely to see winter spikes, possibly large ones, this year. Indeed, the flu may turn out to be a much bigger problem this winter than Covid-19. For this reason, I believe it is important to do the fall Covid booster at the same time as the annual flu shot for the over 65s.” Other factors that could affect the nation’s well-being this winter will include the cost of living crisis. “It could inadvertently help reduce the spread of Covid-19 if people are less able to spend time indoors in crowded leisure spaces such as shopping centers and cinemas,” said virologist Julian Tang of the University of Leicester. “On the other hand, the inability to heat homes, together with the increased circulation of viruses will worsen hospitalization rates from the disease.” Stephen Griffin of the University of Leeds also urged that a comprehensive plan for continued vaccination was needed for the UK, one that particularly targeted younger age groups. “Although much less common than in adults, we can expect – based on the previous wave – that the very high prevalence of Omicron will unfortunately cause a significant number of juvenile hospitalizations and long-term Covid, whose impact on the life of a young he’s a psycho. “
