Coronavirus infection remains high while Omicron’s “stealth mutants” are rising-REACT | Imperial News

Coronavirus infections continue to decline in the United Kingdom, but remain at high levels, according to new surveillance data.

The results of the REACT coronavirus monitoring program, based on approximately 95,000 swab tests performed between February 8 and March 1, show that 1 in 35 people, or 2.88%, were infected. I am. This is the second highest number recorded by this survey since we started testing in May 2020, Previous findings That was 4.41% when 1 in 23 people was infected with the virus in January.

The imperial team read the genetic code of the virus from 1,195 positive samples and found that all but one were omicron variants or derivatives (subvariants). The rest was Delta.

“The higher the number of infectious diseases, the more people will get sick, so it is important for people to continue to follow public health guidance.” Professor Paul Elliott Faculty of Public Health, Empire

As of February 21, nearly half (47.2%) are BA.2 “stealth variants” (named because there are no specific genetic changes that make this variant easily distinguishable from other variants). Was estimated. This is the variant under investigation. This is a significant increase from previous findings in the study when 0.8% was BA.2 in January, suggesting that this subvariant spreads more easily than other circulating variants. .. The highest rate of BA.2 was found in London.

The infection rate varied widely with age, and the infection rate decreased with age. The youngest age group (5-11 years, 4.69%) was almost three times more positive than the oldest age group (75 years and over 1.68%). However, it was found that infectious diseases decreased in children under 54 and young adults, whereas remained flat or probably increased in children 55 and older.

The rate was higher in the south due to nationwide fluctuations.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT program at the Imperial School of Public Health, said: ..

“Fortunately, this is a highly vaccinated group, but it is important for people to continue to follow public health guidance to prevent further spread of the virus, as more people will get sick if the number of infections is high. am.”

These findings from Real-time assessment of community infections The (REACT-1) program is led by Imperial College London along with Ipsos MORI and commissioned by the Ministry of Health. Available here in the preprint report Submitted for peer review. The data is continuously reported to the government to inform the decision.

Higher infectious diseases in the South

In this latest REACT study, 94,950 people wiped at home and analyzed the samples in a PCR test. Of these, 2,731 were positive, with an overall weighted prevalence of 2.88%. Weighting is where researchers adjust their calculations so that the sample reflects the UK population.

Scientists estimate that the reproduction number (R) is slightly below 1 and is 0.94. This means that an average of 10 infected people will infect about 9 people with the virus, indicating a slightly shrinking epidemic.

Prevalence was high in all parts of the country, with the highest prevalence in the southeast (3.33%) and London (3.20%). The lowest was 2.33% in the northeast. Since the last round, infections have declined in all parts of the country except in the southeast and southwest, where there was a slight increase.

Of the 10 sub-local governments with the highest prevalence in the country, 6 were in London and the rest were in the southwest.

“The pandemic isn’t over”

“Vaccination continues to be the best way to protect us from serious illness and hospitalization.” Dr. Jenny Harries UK Health and Security Agency

Dr. Jenny Harries, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Health and Security Agency, said:

“However, the increased presence of the BA.2 substrain of Omicron and the recent slight increase in infectious diseases over the age of 55 indicate that the pandemic is not over and COVID is circulating at high levels. You can see that.

“Vaccination is the best way to protect us from serious illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19 infection. If you haven’t done so already, move your primary or booster dose ahead of schedule. I recommend it. “

Sajid Javid, Minister of Health, said:

“We must continue to protect each other as needed. Vaccines continue to be the best line of defense against the virus. If you haven’t done so already, boost now.”

Kelly Beaver, CEO of Ipsos MORI, said:

“REACT has been an important epidemiological tool for the past two years. We thank the more than 3 million people who have participated in the various studies that have contributed to this very important study.”

Download the preprint report here..