Update on Covid providing information on prevalence and hospital admissions for England and its regions. This post is best viewed using the browser or Substack app.
Jenny -- For the period we are looking at testing levels have remained pretty constant so I am confident that the fall in hospital admissions is real. There was a change in hospital testing policy a year ago which is why I only report data from April 1, 2023.
Worryingly, UKHSA are reducing their PCR testing capacity from this April that will likely impact testing in hospitals. I think I need to do a post that covers the present status of testing and what we will lose after April.
Thank you for sharing this report. It is positive news at this point. I wonder how quickly you would be aware of further variants of concern if and when they emerge?
Sue -- to date we have been good at picking up on new variants. Worryingly the SIREN study that provides most of the sequencing data used for reporting on Covid variants stops at the end of March so our ability to pick up on new variants will be much weaker!
Thank you so much for your response. I think you mentioned this before. Very worrying for tracking the state of affairs! Everything seems to be disappearing rather than building on what was available previously!
The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee who are looking at pandemic preparedness would seem to share your concern. Take a listen to the first 15 minutes of their February 28 evidence session to get a sense of what is happening to our present testing capability. It's all a bit depressing.
Would you be interested in doing a similar report for Spanish data? I track that and can show you where to find it, and if needed translate it for you.
Thank you Bob for keeping us updated. Anecdotally I heard today of three people in one family all sick with a chest/cough/virus. One is recovering but very fatigued. Also a colleague who has experienced post viral fatigue for some weeks. I remain cautious.
How much testing are hospitals doing? What are the current sources of data on Covid prevalence in the UK.
Jenny -- For the period we are looking at testing levels have remained pretty constant so I am confident that the fall in hospital admissions is real. There was a change in hospital testing policy a year ago which is why I only report data from April 1, 2023.
Worryingly, UKHSA are reducing their PCR testing capacity from this April that will likely impact testing in hospitals. I think I need to do a post that covers the present status of testing and what we will lose after April.
Thank you for sharing this report. It is positive news at this point. I wonder how quickly you would be aware of further variants of concern if and when they emerge?
Sue -- to date we have been good at picking up on new variants. Worryingly the SIREN study that provides most of the sequencing data used for reporting on Covid variants stops at the end of March so our ability to pick up on new variants will be much weaker!
Thank you so much for your response. I think you mentioned this before. Very worrying for tracking the state of affairs! Everything seems to be disappearing rather than building on what was available previously!
The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee who are looking at pandemic preparedness would seem to share your concern. Take a listen to the first 15 minutes of their February 28 evidence session to get a sense of what is happening to our present testing capability. It's all a bit depressing.
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2a11e44a-ed2b-4d67-800d-c20f3b059a9f
Would you be interested in doing a similar report for Spanish data? I track that and can show you where to find it, and if needed translate it for you.
Thank you Bob for keeping us updated. Anecdotally I heard today of three people in one family all sick with a chest/cough/virus. One is recovering but very fatigued. Also a colleague who has experienced post viral fatigue for some weeks. I remain cautious.