Another Covid variant is taking off in Britain — but experts have today insisted there is nothing to panic about.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses have raised the alarm about Eris, saying it already makes up one in eight new cases after reaching the UK towards the end of May.
Hospitalisation rates are also starting to shoot up, sparking concern that the nation may be on the brink of being hit by a fresh wave.
However, experts today claimed it shows no sign of being more dangerous than the other strains circulating, including its ancestor Omicron.
Officials also say they are ‘closely’ monitoring the spread of the virus.
Experts have said that the Barbenheimer effect – referring to the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day last month – may have contributed to the rise in infections, along with bad weather and waning immunity.
UKHSA analysts estimate Covid positivity rates increased 5.4 per cent with 17 outbreaks confirmed, on the previous week, which itself saw a rise of 3.7 per cent. Leading experts fear the outbreak will continue to pick up pace in the coming weeks as part of the virus’s natural cycle
Leading experts fear the outbreak will continue to pick up pace in the coming weeks as part of the virus’s natural cycle. But officials say they are ‘closely’ monitoring the spread of the virus. The UK however is no longer publishing daily infection numbers because so few tests are being carried out after the pandemic
Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, told MailOnline: ‘Covid will continue to change and adapt.
‘So we shouldn’t be shocked or worried just because new variants appear and cause increasing numbers of infections.
‘The protection against serious illness provided by vaccination is still holding up well and while numbers of infections go up and down, hospitalisations and deaths remain reassuringly low.’
He added: ‘There’s no reason to be complacent.
‘But unless people are again admitted to hospital in large numbers and struggling to breathe, people should live their lives as normal.’
Professor Paul Hunter, a respected infectious disease specialist, said it was too early to say how Eris, scientifically known as EG.5.1, will affect Britain.
UKHSA chiefs say the variant already has a 20.5 per cent growth advantage and accounts for 14.6 per cent of cases, making it the second most prevalent in the UK.
Growth rates were based on positive testing samples conducted in hospitals.
The Omicron spin-off Arcturus — named XBB.1.16 — meanwhile was the most dominant variant, causing 39.4 per cent of all cases, according to the UKHSA data.
Professor Hunter said that EG.5.1 was ‘likely to become dominant at some point and push up total infections but probably not that dramatically’.
He added: ‘One of the characteristics of immunity to new variants is that immunity to infection is reduced but immunity to severe disease remains strong.
‘This is to do with the nature of the immune response to infections of the nose and throat — mucosal immunity — and infections of the lungs — systemic immunity.’
He said: ‘Unlike earlier in the pandemic, when the main driver of such waves was new escape variants, the main driver now is probably loss of immunity.
‘But some impact from the holiday period may there as well. Since Omicron appeared travel and especially international travel became an important risk factor.’
Meanwhile, UKHSA epidemiologist Meaghan Kall yesterday tweeted: ‘In the past variants with similar growth advantage have not resulted in new waves.
‘However, UKHSA will closely analyse countries with high EG.5.1 prevalence and laboratory neutralisation data.
‘Growth estimates are likely to improve over the coming weeks.’
Professor Christina Pagel, professor of operational research at University College London, said: ‘We’ve not seen big waves in variants with growth advantage of around 20 per cent — previously needed 50 per cent growth advantage+ to get big wave…’
The government health body yesterday declared EG.5.1 a new Covid variant, after it was first raised as a signal in monitoring at the beginning of July.
The World Health Organization also added EG.5 to the list of Omicron variants under monitoring in July.
Globally, Eris — known in Greek mythology as the goddess of strife and discord — already accounts for around 20 per cent of Covid sequences in Asia, 10 per cent of sequences from Europe and seven per cent in North America.
Japan has been hit by a spike in Covid infections in recent weeks, with experts predicting the trend will continue amid high heat, declining population-level immunity and the start of the holiday season.
UKHSA data also shows the Covid weekly hospital admission rate increased to 1.97 per 100,000, as of July 30 — rising from the 1.47 per 100,000 recorded in the previous week. The South West recorded the largest number of admissions for the virus, while those aged over 85 were the age group with the highest rate
The Omicron spin-off Arcturus — named XBB.1.16 — was the most dominant variant, causing 39.4 per cent of all cases, according to the UKHSA data. It also had a growth advantage of 41.8 per cent. But the government health body yesterday declared the Omicron variant EG.5.1. a new Covid variant, after it was first raised as a signal in monitoring at the beginning of July. UKHSA data shows the variant was already the second largest in the UK, accounting for 14.6 per cent of cases. It also had a 20.5 per cent growth advantage
Latest data shows E.G.5.1 represents roughly 37.5 per cent of sequences.
It comes as experts last month warned a spike in Covid cases may happen following the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer.
The films, which earned the combined name Barbenheimer as they both opened on July 21, have captivated audiences and social media users, despite being wildly different.
In the US, Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, tweeted: ‘Not to be a Debbie Downer…but anyone worried about a post-Barbie Box Office Covid bump? Or post-Oppie?’
Other experts today said the theory may have some merit.
Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, told MailOnline that ‘increased cinema attendance’ as well as ‘more indoor mixing’ due to bad weather may have contributed towards a rise in cases.
He said: ‘The EG.5.1 variant does appear to be spreading more efficiently in various Asian countries and is accounting for more infections in the UK.
‘There is no evidence that this variant is more dangerous in causing severe disease.
‘The rise in cases in the UK is probably due to waning protective immunity — it’s some time since people received their last booster jabs and/or were previously infected — and to increased mixing in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces.
‘Poor weather over the last month has meant more indoor mixing including during various events such as university degree congregations and increased cinema attendance.’
He added: ‘Overall levels of infection remain low but this is a wake up call stressing that we can’t be complacent when it comes to Covid.
‘We need to keep an eye on the emergence of variants and be vigilant as we prepare for an inevitable increase in infections over the autumn/winter.’
UKHSA analysts estimate Covid positivity rates increased 5.4 per cent on the previous week, which itself saw a rise of 3.7 per cent.
But the Government has insisted it will never revert back to pandemic-era measures unless a doomsday variant emerges.
Experts say fluctuations in case numbers will happen forevermore.
Another round of the historic jab drive will also begin next month.
Information on who will be eligible for the autumn booster injections is expected in the coming weeks.
The over-65s, care home residents and those aged five and over with a weakened immune system were previously eligible — the groups deemed most at risk of serious illness from the virus.
Last autumn, people over 50 were urged to have a booster, but uptake in England was just 40 per cent for people in their early 50s, and 52 per cent for those in their later 50s.
Those over 75 had a greater turnout for the boosters, with 80 per cent opting to receive another vaccine.
It comes as experts last month warned a spike in Covid cases may happen following the release of Barbie (pictured) and Oppenheimer. The films, which earned the combined name Barbenheimer as they both opened on July 21, have captivated audiences and social media users, despite being wildly different. In the US, Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, tweeted: ‘Not to be a Debbie Downer…but anyone worried about a post-Barbie Box Office Covid bump? Or post-Oppie?’
Some experts today dismissed the theory. But Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, told MailOnline ‘increased cinema attendance’ as well as ‘more indoor mixing’ due to bad weather may have contributed towards a rise in cases. Pictured, Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy, has also drawn large crowds to movie theatres
Some 70 per cent of over-75s also opted for a spring booster earlier this year.
UKHSA data also shows the Covid weekly hospital admission rate increased to 1.97 per 100,000, as of July 30 — rising from the 1.47 per 100,000 recorded in the previous week.
The South West recorded the largest number of admissions for the virus, while those aged over 85 were the age group with the highest rate.
Latest NHS hospital data also shows admissions increased by almost 50 per cent in a week rising from 127 — the day Barbie and Oppenheimer were both released — to 253, as of July 27.
Hospitalizations had been freefalling nationally since March, from a peak of almost 1,200.
The beginning of July however, saw these numbers begin an uptick, rising slightly.
But, current admission levels are nowhere near levels seen earlier in the pandemic, when a high of 4,134 admissions were logged per day.
Infections climbed as high as 3.7million last winter during the spread of the original Omicron variant — but this was topped a few months later, when the number reached a record 4.1million.
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said: ‘We continue to see a rise in Covid cases in this week’s report. We have also seen a small rise in hospital admission rates in most age groups, particularly among the elderly.
‘Overall levels of admission still remain extremely low and we are not currently seeing a similar increase in ICU admissions. We will continue to monitor these rates closely.
She added: ‘The NHS will be in contact in autumn 2023 when the seasonal vaccine is available for those who are eligible due to health conditions or age, and we urge everyone who is offered to take up the vaccine when offered.’
