COVID-19 Coronavirus, HPAI H5N1 Bird Flu, Measles, Tropical Imports and Other Virus UK and World News Update 5th September 2025

COVID-19 Coronavirus, HPAI H5N1 Bird Flu, Measles, Tropical Imports and Other Virus UK and World News Update 5th September 2025

From January every eligible child in the UK will receive a chickenpox (varicella) vaccination with their MMR jabs (MMRV). 

"Research shows that chickenpox in childhood results in an estimated £24 million in lost income and productivity every year in the UK. The rollout will also save the NHS £15 million a year in costs for treating the common condition."

Mild chickenpox can still be awful and leave you with scarring. Severe chickenpox is rare, but does happen. It can cause infections, pneumonia, encephalitis or a range of problems with organs, including the brain, eyes and heart. Chickenpox during pregnancy can affect your baby. Any baby born with chickenpox will be very poorly. 

Chickenpox vaccination also helps protect against shingles - which is where dormant varicella virus hiding in your body (often for decades) reawakens and can make you very ill. 10 years ago my partner got meningitis from dormant varicella springing back into action and making it into his head.

I strongly agree with vaccinating against varicella. 

NHS England:

From 1 September, all severely immunosuppressed adults aged 18+ will be able to get the shingles vaccine from their GP.

"This includes people with conditions such as leukaemia or lymphoma or those who are undergoing chemotherapy, which put them at greater risk of becoming seriously unwell if they contract shingles."

This is another varicella vaccine, although it contains no complete or live virus (it's just a reminder for your immune system and safe for vulnerable people). You should get an invitation to book from your GP next month.

COVID-19, HPAI H5N1 Avian Flu, and other virus UK and World News Update 25th July 2025

COVID-19, Long COVID, HPAI H5N1 Avian Flu, and other virus UK and World News Update 25th July 2025

I hope you've had a good month - thanks for coming back! I've had a very lovely time off - I survived going on a plane, which I haven't done in 26 years because I was terrified last time. It's never too late to face your fears, and I'm exceptionally glad I did. We went on holiday with 5 of our 'children', ticked off some bucket list items visiting Pompeii, Vesuvius and Herculaneum, and walking a crippling 80 miles over 11 days. Be brave, it pays off, even if you have sore knees. Back to it... 

Resident doctors (previously junior doctors) in England are striking for 5 days from today in fresh action over pay. They are demanding pay is restored to equivalent levels for 2008, and are asking for a 29% pay rise. They have been offered 5.4%. 

Adverts have been published in national papers showing a newly qualified doctor's assistant earns over £24 per hour, while a resident doctor is on £18.62 per hour with years of medical experience (and may even have use of their own doctor's assistant to support with paperwork, admin, screening, blood tests etc). 

The BMA has warned that patients will be at risk because NHS leaders have asked that planned treatment isn't postponed, despite up to 50,000 people joining the strike. 

COVID-19, HPAI H5N1 Avian Flu and other virus UK and World News Update 7th March 2025

COVID-19, HPAI H5N1 Avian Flu and other virus UK and World News Update 7th March 2025

Just in case you haven't had enough of Norovirus this year, the UK Health Security Agency are warning us that there are 2 common strains, and the one which was most popular a couple of months ago is waning, but the second one is having a bit of a party. Sadly catching one doesn't mean you won't catch the other, so there are fun times ahead for some of you... 

As an aside, UKHSA reckon for every lab confirmed case, there are another 288 riding it out quietly at home. 

Latest UK Norovirus figures still aren't pretty, but they do finally show a decrease in cases. Overall still very high levels, and more than double the 5 year average for the same 2 week period. 

COVID-19 Coronavirus, HPAI H5N1 Avian Flu and other virus UK and World News Update 21st February 2025

COVID-19 Coronavirus, HPAI H5N1 Avian Flu and other virus UK and World News Update 21st February 2025

Between July and November 2024 the UK NHS managed to deliver almost 2.2 million more appointments than July to November 2023. These included chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endoscopy and diagnostic tests.

There is a caveat in that during that period in 2023 there were 12 days of strikes by doctors-in-training (junior doctors) - but in 2024 no strikes and more patients seen is undoubtedly a doubly good thing. 

The waiting list has been cut by almost 160,000 since the current government took office, compared to a rise of almost 33,000 over the same period the previous year. 

The overall waiting list for planned treatment in England fell slightly in December to 7.46 million - but only 59% started treatment within 18 weeks, with the Govt target by end of parliament 92%. Some way to go yet. 

Keep going Wes. Keep fixing the NHS. 

Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England with a less than heartwarming quote last week:

“We need to think much more radically, particularly about capital…I think we now must consider private capital investment in the NHS…if we don’t fix our buildings, if we don’t fix our technology we’re not going to..really drive that long term improvement."

You don't really seem to want to save the NHS Amanda. Surely pumping cash into wining and dining private capital, then repaying interest or renting for the next bazillion years is not the best way to save the NHS?

COVID-19 Coronavirus, HPAI H5N1 Bird Flu and other virus UK and World News Update 10th January 2025

COVID-19 Coronavirus, HPAI H5N1 and other virus UK and World News Update 10th January 2025

Happy New Year! I hope you had a good festive break, and I'm delighted to say that the world didn't become overrun by virus during the last 3 weeks, not entirely anyway... 

"NHS England says there were over 5,000 patients in hospital with flu at the end of last week. The average...was almost 3.5 times higher than the same week in 2023. NHS England says the number quadrupled since the end of November."

BBC Health Editor Hugh Pym on 3rd January. 

"NHS England says average flu patient numbers in hospitals at 5,400 last week - up on previous week. A&E attendances in 2024 up 7 per cent on the year. NHS leaders say strain on staff at times as bad as height of pandemic."

Hugh Pym on 9th January.

Flu levels are currently abysmal in the UK, but some suggestions we may soon peak - I hope so.

COVID-19 Coronavirus, H5N1 Avian Flu, Disease X and other virus UK and World News Update 20th December 2024

COVID-19 Coronavirus, H5N1 Avian Flu, Disease X and other virus UK and World News Update 20th December 2024

"We are currently seeing more norovirus cases than in any season since we started our current reporting system."

UK Health Security Agency (HSA)

Norovirus is a tummy bug that can be nasty. Always wash hands before touching food, don't cook for others if you are ill, wash soiled bedding and clothes at 60º and as always, stay home if you are ill. 

UK HSA VirusWatch:

Flu activity has increased and is now at medium levels.  

COVID19 activity decreased across all indicators and remains at baseline levels. 

RSV activity decreased across most indicators and we are seeing less cases.

11,511 deaths were registered in England and Wales, week ending 6 Dec 2024 (Week 49):

· 8.0% lower than the expected number (998 fewer deaths)

· 14.5% involved influenza or pneumonia (1,671 deaths)

· 1.0% involved COVID19 (118 deaths)

UK public are being asked to only go to A&E at hospital if you really need to. If in doubt or you've got plenty of time to think about it, call 111 and get further advice. They will triage over the phone and send you for the correct help. If someone is seriously ill or injured, deteriorating rapidly, shows signs of stroke or heart attack, or a life is in danger, call 999 as an emergency. 

COVID-19 Coronavirus and other virus including HPAI H5N1 and Disease X UK and World News Update 13th December 2024

 COVID-19 Coronavirus and other virus UK and World News Update 13th December 2024

World COVID Statistics: 776,947,553 officially reported cases and 7,076,993 losses of life.

The world is still officially losing around 500 people to COVID each week, despite only 102 countries still reporting regular figures to the World Health Organisation. 

“We cannot talk about COVID in the past tense.

It’s still with us, it still causes acute disease and Long COVID, and it still kills.

The world might want to forget about COVID-19, but we cannot afford to.”

Dr Tedros, Head of WHO, at Wednesday's media briefing. 

This time 5 years ago, the first severely ill patients in Wuhan, China, were about to be hospitalised. 

Symptom onset for patient A was 1st December 2019, with 3 more patients by 10th December, and first hospitalisations around 17th. 

"On that first confirmed case, none of his family members developed fever or any respiratory symptoms. He had not been to the Huanan seafood market and also no epidemiological link could be found between the first patient and later cases.

Chinese media later reported that there were earlier suspected infectections, going back to 17 November. Authorities did not publicly accept there was human-to-human transmission of the virus until 21 January."

Jim Reed, BBC Health Reporter. 

5 years people... We all having been living a pandemic for 5 years. 

 

COVID-19 Coronavirus and other virus UK and World News Update 17th March 2023

COVID-19 Coronavirus and other virus UK and World News Update 17th March 2023

World COVID Statistics: 682,255,152 reported cases and 6,817,431 losses of life.

"Over 3 years into the COVID19 emergency, too many lives have been lost. Too many people are still suffering, including from Long COVID. We'll never stop demanding equitable access to life-saving tools.

"Understanding COVID19’s origins and exploring all hypotheses remains:

-a scientific imperative, to help us prevent future outbreaks

-a moral imperative, for the sake of the millions of people who died and those who live with Long COVID"

Dr Tedros, Head of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

On 11th March it was 3 years since WHO declared COVID a pandemic. It wasn't actually their job, but by 11th March 2020 it had become clear no-one else was going to do it and everyone was waiting, so Dr Tedros made the announcement. In some people's minds this made him responsible for the entire thing. 

"Around this time three years ago, the world woke up to the seriousness of COVID19, to stay at home orders, to life - as we had known it - changed…

We have all been impacted by the COVID19 pandemic, we are all different, and we cannot go “back” to the way it was, we need to make our futures better…

I know the world wants so desperately for the COVID19 pandemic to be over. I do too. But we aren’t done yet and this virus isn’t done with us yet. It is here to stay and we can do more to protect everyone, everywhere…"

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead, Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Lead, WHO Health Emergencies Programme.

COVID-19 Coronavirus and other virus UK and World News Update 25th November 2022

COVID-19 Coronavirus and other virus UK and World News Update 25th November 2022

World COVID Statistics: 645,069,583 reported cases and 6,633,233 losses of life.

"My offer of formal negotiations was declined and instead ministers have chosen strike action.

Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve."

Royal College of Nursing general secretary Pat Cullen, as quoted by Sky News. 

Today's UK random COVID sampling from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is refreshing. It's week ending 15th November, so 10 days behind, but positive tests are declining or static. That's excellent news as Winter is beginning to make itself known, and far better than we are doing with RSV (chest infection virus) and Flu. 

- England, estimate 809,200, equating to 1.48% of the population (a decrease from 1.73% in the previous week), or around 1 in 65 people.

- Wales, estimate 45,400, equating to 1.49% of the population (a decrease from 1.84% in the previous week), or around 1 in 65 people.

- Northern Ireland, estimate 34,100, equating to 1.86% of the population (there was no change in the percentage which was 1.86% in the previous week), or around 1 in 55 people.

- Scotland, estimate 83,700, equating to 1.59% of the population (a decrease from 1.85% in the previous week), or around 1 in 65 people.