The number of Covid-19 cases in England dropped substantially in February from January’s high when the omicron surge was at its peak, a large study found.
New infections fell by a third in February although the overall prevalence of cases is still the second highest on record since the pandemic began, according to the latest round of results from the React-1 study.
The analysis led by Imperial College found that the omicron subvariant BA.2 now accounts for at least 50% of the 95,000 swabs sampled between February 8 and March 1. The subvariant is also driving up infections and hospital admissions among older adults over 55 as the country, freed of pandemic restrictions, adjusts to living with Covid.
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While the highly mutated subvariant appears to be more transmissible than the original omicron variant, there is no indication that it causes more severe disease.
{{/usCountry}}While the highly mutated subvariant appears to be more transmissible than the original omicron variant, there is no indication that it causes more severe disease.
{{/usCountry}}“The recent slight increase in infections in those over 55 show that the pandemic is not over and that we can expect to see Covid-19 circulating at high levels,” said Jenny Harries, chief executive officer of the UK Health Security Agency. She said vaccination remains the best way for people to protect themselves from Covid.
Prevalence of Covid-19 among most age groups fell apart from those aged 55 years and older, the researchers said. During the analysis period, London led in the number of positive cases as more people returned to the office and social gatherings.
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The number of people hospitalized with coronavirus also started to rise in late February in the lead up to the U.K. government scrapping Covid rules including the requirement to isolate, the study showed.
“It’s encouraging that infections have been falling across England, but they are still very high and the possibility that they are rising in older adults may be a cause for concern,” said Paul Elliott, director of the REACT programme and professor at Imperial’s School of Public Health.
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