A new Covid-19 wave is looming in Europe
- Cold weather and more indoor socialising may fuel a winter surge of Covid-19
- Vaccine booster complacency influenced by a perception the pandemic is over
A new Covid-19 wave appears to be brewing in Europe as cooler weather arrives, with public health experts warning that vaccine fatigue and confusion over types of available vaccines will likely limit booster uptake.
Omicron subvariants BA.4/5 that dominated this summer are still behind the majority of infections, but newer Omicron subvariants are gaining ground. Hundreds of new forms of Omicron are being tracked by scientists, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said this week.
WHO data released late on Wednesday showed that cases in the European Union (EU) reached 1.5 million last week, up 8 per cent from the prior week, despite a dramatic fall in testing. Globally, case numbers continue to decline.
Hospitalisation numbers across many countries in the 27-nation bloc, as well as Britain, have gone up in recent weeks.
In the week ended October 4, Covid-19 hospital admissions with symptoms jumped nearly 32 per cent in Italy, while intensive care admissions rose about 21 per cent, compared to the week before, according to data compiled by independent scientific foundation Gimbe.
Over the same week, Covid hospitalisations in Britain saw a 45 per cent increase versus the week earlier.
