Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Covid may kill thousands every year in UK during winter, warn scientists

Covid may kill thousands every year in UK during winter, warn scientists

SCIENTISTS have warned that Britain will have to face the prospect of thousands of annual Covid deaths in the coming years, The Guardian reported.

The disease will circulate alongside flu and other seasonal viruses and become part of accepted winter illness, they added.


According to them, Covid is likely to sweep the country every winter affecting elderly and infirm people. When cold weather forces people indoors, virus transmission will increase, case numbers will rise, and some of these will result in deaths, the report added.

Researchers said that Covid infections could rise in autumn as vaccination rates falter and schools return. This could lead to a fourth wave this winter – one that could become an annual occurrence for years to come, The Guardian report said.

“We are going to see problems with Covid for a long time. The virus has shown itself to be genetically more nimble than we expected, though not as much as the influenza virus. So I would envisage Covid being a continuing problem for some time, with annual death tolls reaching thousands and possibly tens of thousands," Prof Adam Finn of Bristol University, told the newspaper.

Prof James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute in Oxford, said: “We won’t see Covid-19 spread like wildfire again. There will be enough herd immunity in the population to ensure it will never kick off like that again. But everything will not be hunky-dory. We will have waves of illness similar to flu, I think. And they will kill. The issue is: how many? That is difficult to assess but if you look at current Covid deaths, these are occurring at about 100 a day."

According to Prof Jonathan Ball of Nottingham University, numbers of Covid deaths will decrease over time as population immunity to the disease not only increases but also broadens.

“Covid is not going to be something that brings society to a halt. And we can minimise the problems it poses – through careful use of vaccines, for example," said Prof Finn.

Prof Martin Hibberd of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told The Guardian: “I think we may be at a turning point in Covid-19 in the UK, with the proportion of people with antibodies now rising above 90 per cent. That means that soon we will be in as good a place as possible with vaccine protection – and yet, we are still seeing the disease.

“This is what we will have to live with: a new nasty disease that will continue to cause problems. I think we can use influenza as an example here. We have vaccines for influenza and yet we still have perhaps an average of 20,000 deaths a year in the UK.”

Scientists are now pressing for the introduction of booster vaccines for people over 50 and for 16- and 17-year-olds to be considered for vaccination.

According to the report, previous lockdowns in the UK may have weakened the British population’s immunity to other respiratory illnesses such as flu.

More For You

Birmingham-stabbing

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed on Saturday afternoon in Bordesley Green. (Photo: X/@MarioNawfal)

Stabbings on the rise as Birmingham residents protest attack on teen

A RISE in stabbing incidents across the country has raised concerns, with another attack in Birmingham prompting a protest by local residents.

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed on Saturday afternoon in Bordesley Green. West Midlands Police said he was attacked at about 15:30 GMT and was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He is now in stable condition.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian court sentences man to life for rape, murder of Irish woman
McLaughlin, 28, from County Donegal, was found dead in a field in Goa in March 2017. (Photo credit: Twitter)

Indian court sentences man to life for rape, murder of Irish woman

A COURT in India’s Goa state has sentenced a 31-year-old man to life in prison for the rape and murder of an Irish woman in 2017. The verdict was delivered on Monday, nearly eight years after the crime.

The body of 28-year-old Danielle McLaughlin was found in March 2017 on a beach popular with tourists. An autopsy confirmed that cerebral damage and constriction of the neck caused her death.

Keep ReadingShow less
Michael O’Sullivan

Over his career, Michael O’Sullivan rode 95 winners in Ireland and Britain, including 14 in Ireland and two in Britain this season. (Photo: X/@irishracing)

Irish jockey Michael O’Sullivan dies after fall at Thurles

IRISH jockey Michael O’Sullivan has died after sustaining injuries in a fall at Thurles, Ireland, on 6 February. The 24-year-old had been in an induced coma in intensive care at Cork University Hospital since the incident.

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s (IHRB) chief medical officer, Dr Jennifer Pugh, confirmed his passing early Sunday morning, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rizwana Bokhari

Rizwana Bokhari passed away on 10 February 2025, at the age of 73.

Hundreds attend funeral of Rizwana Bokhari in London

OVER 700 people attended the funeral of Rizwana Bokhari at Balham Mosque, the oldest mosque in South London, on Friday, 14 February.

Mourners included faith leaders from across the UK, international guests from America and Asia, and political figures.

Keep ReadingShow less
new-delhi-railway-station-reuters

People, including pilgrims on their way to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela, gather at the New Delhi Railway Station to board a train on February 15. (Photo: Reuters)

18 killed in stampede at railway station in Delhi

AT LEAST 18 people died in a stampede at a railway station in Delhi late on Saturday as large crowds rushed to board trains heading to the Maha Kumbh Mela, officials and reports said.

The Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years in Prayagraj, attracts tens of millions of Hindu devotees and has seen several crowd-related incidents. Last month, at least 30 people died in a stampede at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

Keep ReadingShow less