Brits urged to 'stop panicking' over COVID-19 rates by expert

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Professor Heneghan has urged Britons to “stop panicking” about the possible rise in coronavirus in the run-up to Christmas. Speaking to TalkRADIO host Julia Hartley-Brewer, the health expert argued the public to get used to “what happened with an endemic virus.” The latest figures show a total of 14,385 cases of the “Delta Plus” mutation have been detected to date in the UK. 

Professor Heneghan told TalkRADIO: “I don’t think we should be moving to Plan B but I think you’re right about why are we worried about the NHS and we’ve talked about this multiple times this issue of capacity is a problem as we go into winter, we just don’t have enough beds.

“But let’s, you know, there’s been a sense every time I read headlines we are probably going to talk about vaccines, it’s the next catastrophe that’s around the corner.

“If you look at the data actually on Monday last Monday when we spoke, actually it was 42,000 then, on the specimen day, every time we make an increment, from 40 to 50,000, there’s another alert.

“Actually looks now like it’s really starting to slow the acceleration, and we’re starting to come off again.

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“So we have to stop panic and get used to what happened with an endemic virus.”

On Monday Dr Hilary Jones told Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid that rising numbers of Coronavirus cases and virus-related deaths had him worried.

Sunday saw 45,140 new Covid cases recorded in the UK, more than three times the amount that was reported on the same day last year.

Dr Hilary warned that the health situation is vulnerable and just one new variant one be enough to send Britain “back to square one.”

Covid headlines on October 19: Cases rising in 90% of UK

Dr Hilary told GMB: “If you look at the prevalence the highest rate is amongst the 12 to 15-year-old age group, so it’s the return to schools, which is largely created cases and we put a policy of only vaccinating this age group in schools as opposed to what they do in Scotland, and we’ve only got 14 percent of that age group, jabbed at the moment so there’s a big job to be done with the vaccine rollout in 12 to 15-year-olds because that’s where many of these cases are found.”

Ms Reid added: “That age group is only vaccinated once which presumably offers some protection, but not the whole protection, or the better protection that adults would get.”

Dr Hilary continued: “The double jab much greater antibody response and it lasts longer as well so that’s something that probably will need to be looked at.

“One worrying factor is the number of deaths have gone up now, we don’t see those deaths in that younger age group.

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“So, we are seeing these large numbers of cases being translated into infections in older people and more vulnerable people have asked what’s leading to greater numbers of hospitalizations again, and loss of life. 

“And that’s a concern to me as all it needs is a variant to come along with mutations and we’re back to square one.”

Estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that around one in 10 schoolchildren in Years 7 to 11 in England was estimated to have Covid last week – the highest positivity rate for any age group.

While infection levels in England are high, they are not leading to the same level of hospital admissions and deaths as during the second peak thanks to the success of the vaccination campaign.

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