Leicestershire health chief offers advice and reassurance as Covid and flu rates rise

Mike Sandys, director of public health for Leicestershire, said he expects a high number of Covid, flu and other respiratory illness cases as the colder weather sets in.

Mr Sandys said there was around a 50 per cent increase in the number of people in the UK reporting Covid-like symptoms – around three million or one in 20 people – in the past two to three weeks.

While the data is less precise than during the height of the pandemic, this trend is likely to be reflected locally, he added. While the surge is expected to even out, he predicted the number of cases will remain at this higher level throughout the autumn and winter months.

“I don’t think it’s going to slump, but it could be that rate of increase is tailing off and it’s going to carry on at this kind of level for a bit,” he added.

“Which is fairly similar to what we saw over the last two years where we just about get used to it going away over the summer, then it rises up as the schools go back and it gets colder.”

This surge comes as the country’s healthcare services brace themselves for a bad flu-season. The UK bases its predictions for the winter period on the situation in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere which has its winter season during our summer.

However, Mr Sandys has rejected the concerns we could be facing a ‘twindemic’. He said the term was unnecessarily alarmist and could be interpreted as an indication that the country was at risk of a return to the strictest measures and harshest impacts of the pandemic.

He said: “Rather than talk about a ‘woe is me twindemic’, it is really back to fairly old messages which is we are back to that time of year where we are more susceptible and there is more respiratory illness around. People need to be aware of that."

“Whether you go old school ‘coughs and sneezes spread diseases’ or you want to go with the Covid messages of ‘hands, face, space’, those basic infection control measures are good advice for any cold, flu or Covid.”

So what should be people be doing to prepare for the winter months? The most effective way to protect yourself from flu and Covid is to get vaccinated if you are offered the chance, said Mr Sandys.

From Friday, October 14, anyone over 50 will be able to book in for the two jabs, as will people who are considered to be at risk – including those who are immunosuppressed – carers and frontline healthcare workers. Pregnant woman and primary school children will also be invited for the flu jab.

Mr Sandys said: “What’s the best thing you can do to protect yourself from serious illness from flu or from Covid? Going and getting your vaccine.

“Yes there is an element of fatigue in all of this because the vast majority of us will have had three Covid jabs already, [but] the protection offered does not last forever and it is sensible to do everything you can to just give yourself your best line of defence.

“Feeling rough for a few days [after a jab] is a small price to pay for being protected against something which isn’t just about the short term affects. We’re learning more about long Covid.”