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.
Thanks as ever for the report. A welcome dose of fact on social media too full of fiction. Do you get updates from the USA by any chance? It may make an interesting long term study.....
While the main focus of this report is the UK I do cover other countries every 3-4 weeks with a focus on Covid levels from wastewater surveillance. These include the USA but are high level and don't go into detail.
If you don't follow already then a useful source of information on what's happening in the USA is from the following substack:
Thanks for the update - particularly the easy to understand info on Hong Kong. Looks as though if the pattern is like last year the peak will have passed when we get there in early October. Packing FFP3s though. Keep up the good work.
Hong Kong publishes a weekly status report covering Covid and Flu. It would be worthwhile checking the latest situation when you travel there. The reports can be found at the following link:
Though no longer under British rule, Hong Kong still maintains a strong British culture and legacy. It's very different from mainland China where I'm from.
Apologies, Bob - I'm afraid I missed the advance warning and must have sounded rather impertinent.
And Happy Birthday - a well deserved day off !
I was particularly keen to see your analysis this week on Hong King, Singapore etc.
For those of us who really don't need to catch Covid and who've been enjoying a relatively normal life for a few months, NB 1.8.1 does look a bit ominous.
Peter -- Not to worry I did mention at the top of the May 22 report that I would be publishing on Friday this week. I was out celebrating my birthday this Thursday so took a day off :)
Bob, I wonder if there are numbers from the Falkland islands? It's not part of the British isles, but it is part of the UK. Be interesting to compare numbers from a relatively isolated place with places that have frequent visitor exchanges with the rest of the world.
Wow! % of deaths with SARS COV 2 in the US has dropped below % of deaths with SARS COV 2 in the UK. 0.4% compared to 0.8%. Hospitalization rate in the US has also dropped below hospitalization rate in the UK. 1.0 per 100,000 compared to 1.4 per 100,000.
I have just tested + for Covid. Unfortunately at age 60 and with COPD I am not eligible for a vax. Thank you for the information- I did see somewhere thst rates are going up in LA also.
Interestingly, if you compare the UK to Germany, Germany has far less hospitalization rate and deaths. This is probably because Germany does much fewer testing than the UK does.
0.2 per 100,000 hospitalization rate and 10 deaths in the past week
Unlike spike antibodies, capsid antibodies reduce viral load and therefore reduce severe outcomes such as hospitalizations and deaths. Unlike previous years, this year population level capsid antibodies is particularly high from past infections so fingers crossed this year's summer wave is tiny.
Thank you as ever for the detailed update and very interesting overview of what's happening in SG and HK.
Thanks as ever for the report. A welcome dose of fact on social media too full of fiction. Do you get updates from the USA by any chance? It may make an interesting long term study.....
While the main focus of this report is the UK I do cover other countries every 3-4 weeks with a focus on Covid levels from wastewater surveillance. These include the USA but are high level and don't go into detail.
If you don't follow already then a useful source of information on what's happening in the USA is from the following substack:
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/
Thanks for the update - particularly the easy to understand info on Hong Kong. Looks as though if the pattern is like last year the peak will have passed when we get there in early October. Packing FFP3s though. Keep up the good work.
Hong Kong publishes a weekly status report covering Covid and Flu. It would be worthwhile checking the latest situation when you travel there. The reports can be found at the following link:
https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/resources/29/100148.html
Though no longer under British rule, Hong Kong still maintains a strong British culture and legacy. It's very different from mainland China where I'm from.
Very useful, as always. Thank you, Bob.
🙏
Apologies, Bob - I'm afraid I missed the advance warning and must have sounded rather impertinent.
And Happy Birthday - a well deserved day off !
I was particularly keen to see your analysis this week on Hong King, Singapore etc.
For those of us who really don't need to catch Covid and who've been enjoying a relatively normal life for a few months, NB 1.8.1 does look a bit ominous.
What's happened to Bob's report for 29th May 2025? I do hope it's just a little late and not discontinued!
It's an invaluable service!
Peter -- Not to worry I did mention at the top of the May 22 report that I would be publishing on Friday this week. I was out celebrating my birthday this Thursday so took a day off :)
Thank you so much again, I rely on your updates.
Bob, I wonder if there are numbers from the Falkland islands? It's not part of the British isles, but it is part of the UK. Be interesting to compare numbers from a relatively isolated place with places that have frequent visitor exchanges with the rest of the world.
Wow! % of deaths with SARS COV 2 in the US has dropped below % of deaths with SARS COV 2 in the UK. 0.4% compared to 0.8%. Hospitalization rate in the US has also dropped below hospitalization rate in the UK. 1.0 per 100,000 compared to 1.4 per 100,000.
Sources:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending9may2025
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home
I have just tested + for Covid. Unfortunately at age 60 and with COPD I am not eligible for a vax. Thank you for the information- I did see somewhere thst rates are going up in LA also.
Interestingly, if you compare the UK to Germany, Germany has far less hospitalization rate and deaths. This is probably because Germany does much fewer testing than the UK does.
0.2 per 100,000 hospitalization rate and 10 deaths in the past week
Source:
https://infektionsradar.gesund.bund.de/en/covid/hospitalizations
https://infektionsradar.gesund.bund.de/en/covid/deaths
SARS COV 2 always has a summer wave. Ugh.
Unlike spike antibodies, capsid antibodies reduce viral load and therefore reduce severe outcomes such as hospitalizations and deaths. Unlike previous years, this year population level capsid antibodies is particularly high from past infections so fingers crossed this year's summer wave is tiny.
SARS COV 2 rules over flu and RSV!
Thanks for picking this up -- I have now corrected and changed to Covid.