Covid hospital patients nearing peak of spring wave

Public health officials warn of waning immunity in older people

The number of patients in hospital with Covid is nearly as high as the peak during the spring wave (PA )

The number of people fighting Covid in hospital is reaching the heights seen during the spring Omicron wave, with one NHS boss warning that 15,000 beds will be occupied by those with the virus within days.

New NHS data on beds occupied by positive Covid patients also shows at least 25 per cent of patients are likely to have caught the virus in hospital wards.

Daily Covid hospital admissions in England hit 1,926 on Tuesday, while 11,878 beds were occupied by patients on Thursday.

The figures come after NHS medical director Stephen Powis predicted beds occupied by Covid patients would increase to 15,000 in the coming days.

UK Health Security Agency data also shows admissions to intensive care units in England of people testing positive for Covid have risen for the second week in a row and are now at levels last seen in mid-April.

Health experts have warned the numbers are likely to carry on rising throughout July, driven by a “substantial amount” of waning immunity among older people.

The current wave is being driven by the variants Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, which are now the dominant strains of Covid in the UK and are more transmissible than the BA.2 variant that caused infection levels to reach an all-time high earlier in the year.

The figures are the latest evidence of how the virus is becoming more prevalent, with the potential to add further pressure on hospital staff already trying to clear a record backlog of operations.

It comes as nearly 60 hospitals, GP practices, pharmacists and dentists across the Midlands were told by NHS leaders to look to reintroduce masks, according to a letter seen by The Independent.

NHS chiefs in the region were told there had been a 97 per cent increase in patients being infected in hospitals.

According to an analysis by Adele Groyer, from the Covid Actuaries Response Group, hospital-acquired Covid now accounts for 25 per cent, or 2,920, of cases across England. She said this has increased from 16 per cent over the past four weeks.

The news comes as Covid booster jabs are expected to be rolled out to the over 50s in the winter amid concerns of a further wave alongside an early flu season.

According to data from UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) the rate of hospital admissions in England of people testing positive for Covid stood at 14.6 per 100,000 last week, up from 11.1 the previous week. Admissions to intensive care units stood at 0.4 per 100,000, up from 0.3.

Hospital admissions remain highest among over-85s, at 126.2 per 100,000 people, followed by 75 to 84-year-olds, 65 to 74-year-olds.

Dr Mary Ramsay, UK Health Security Agency director of clinical programmes, said: “We continue to see Covid-19 case rates and hospitalisations rise in all age groups, with the largest increases in hospitalisations and ICU admissions in those aged 75 and older.

“There is likely to be a substantial amount of waning immunity in older people who have not taken up the booster on schedule, so we can expect these rises to continue over the coming weeks and throughout July.

“Vaccination remains the best defence against severe disease and we urge anyone who is eligible for the spring booster to take it up.”