SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingimage copyrightPA MediaThe number of people testing positive for Covid-19 has continued to fall in the UK, the latest daily figures show.The UK recorded 29,173 new cases on Sunday – down from 48,161 logged a week earlier on 18 July.The number of new infections by date reported has fallen for five days in a row for the first time since February.It is also the first time since the start of the pandemic that a sustained drop in cases has not coincided with a national lockdown.”The data at present is looking good for at least the summer,” said Prof Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia.”Today’s figures do not of course include any impact of last Monday’s end of restrictions. It will not be until about next Friday before the data includes the impact of this change.”What could be causing the fall in cases?Public Health England tweeted the daily figures for Sunday, saying there had been a delay in updating the government’s coronavirus dashboard.It said 46,563,452 people had now had a first dose of a Covid vaccine, while 37,160,659 had received a second dose.The dashboard later updated to show there have been a further 28 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.The seven-day average of cases, which smooths out daily fluctuations, is showing a 15.4% decline compared with the week before.In Scotland, case numbers started falling earlier than in England – with some evidence the decline may have been triggered by the football team’s exit from the Euro 2020 tournament, although the downward trend has continued since then.”There has been a lot of conversation about a football-related bounce in infections and whether we were seeing a wave-within-a-wave,” said Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.”In Scotland though it’s now starting to look like it’s a longer-term trend. We haven’t seen any sign of cases picking up [since the football finished]”.The figures show the number of people taking Covid tests has fallen over the past fortnight, which scientists say could explain some of the drop in reported case numbers but is very unlikely to be the only factor.Better weather over the past fortnight across much of the country may also have helped as more socialising took place outside.The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest 92% of adults in the UK now have antibodies to the virus in their blood, either through a previous infection or at least one vaccination dose.Real world data shows one dose of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines is between 30% and 36% effective at preventing a symptomatic Covid infection with the dominant Delta variant. After two doses that rises to 67% for the AstraZeneca jab and 88% for the Pfizer jab. Both jabs are even more effective against hospitalisation and death.The vaccines can never offer 100% protection but as more of the population is jabbed so there is less opportunity for the virus to infect and spread.What impact could the 19 July unlocking have?Covid rules in England were relaxed on 19 July, removing social distancing restrictions in bars and restaurants and allowing nightclubs to reopen.Any rise in infections linked to that unlocking is unlikely to show up in the daily case numbers for some days to come.In other countries, such as the Netherlands and Spain, the reopening of nightclubs has been followed by a sharp rise in infections, and in some areas the policy was quickly reversed.Some scientists say the impact of unlocking in England is extremely hard to predict but could be offset by a reduction in younger children mixing as schools close for the summer holidays.”If I was a betting man, I would now say that the impact of 19 July will not be sufficient to start case numbers increasing again, but I cannot be certain,” said Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia.Others are more cautious. Prof Woolhouse from Edinburgh University said there “may well” be another rise in cases this summer.”There are at least eight million adults who have had no vaccination at all, plus most children under 18. That is still a lot of material for the virus to work with… and if the change in behaviour is dramatic enough [after 19 July], then we could see cases increase again.”What about the impact on hospitals?Since the start of the pandemic a rise in infections has always led, some weeks later, to a corresponding increase in hospitalisations and deaths.The vaccine rollout has significantly weakened that relationship but has not broken it completely.As of 22 July there were 5,001 Covid patients in hospital across the UK, up from a low of 871 on 27 May but still well below the 39,254 in hospital at the height of the winter wave in January.The time lag between infections and hospital admissions means that number is likely to continue to rise over at least the next week, even if infections continue to fall.Trying to predict what will happen in the longer term is a much more difficult task for data scientists and epidemiologists.THE R NUMBER: What it means and why it mattersTEST AND TRACE: How does it work?VACCINE: When will I get the jab?GLOBAL SPREAD: How many worldwide cases are there?Most agree that there is unlikely to be a defined end-point to this pandemic. Instead the disease may become endemic – meaning it continues to circulate at a lower level in pockets of the population with smaller spikes driven by changes to behaviour and seasonal effects.Earlier this month, the NHS was given the green light to start planning a Covid vaccine booster programme to try to minimise another wave of infections this winter.Scientists serving on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended 30 million of the most vulnerable should receive a third dose. They will include all adults aged 50 and over and anyone over 16 who qualifies for a flu jab.”This is a very difficult phase of epidemic to predict and very careful surveillance and monitoring will remain important for weeks and months to come,” said Prof Woolhouse. “There is nothing yet that undermines the government’s decision to unlock on 19 July but [we will] have to continue to watch.”THE SEARCH FOR A NEW RAP STAR BEGINS: Six artists compete for the chance to win a £20k music prizeNO BALLS: Tune into our new cricket podcast to hear all things The Hundred and more!

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingimage copyrightGetty ImagesAdults are more likely to report mild and moderate side-effects after mixing doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer Covid vaccines, a study indicates.Chills, headaches and muscle pain were reported more frequently when different vaccine doses were combined.Any adverse reactions were short lived, with no other safety concerns.”It’s a really intriguing finding and not something we were necessarily expecting,” Prof Matthew Snape, from the Oxford Vaccine Group said.The Com-Cov study launched in February to see whether a different jab for the second dose might give longer-lasting immunity, better protection against new variants or simply allow clinics to swap vaccines if supplies are interrupted.The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have both said they plan to mix vaccines in the near future, amid uncertainty over shipments of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab and concerns about rare blood clots. How many people have been vaccinated so far?Pfizer vaccine authorised by US FDA for adolescentsThe study, led by the University of Oxford, has recruited 830 volunteers aged over 50.It is expected to publish its first full results in June.But preliminary data has now been published in a research letter in the medical journal the Lancet.One in 10 volunteers given two AstraZeneca jabs four weeks apart reported feverishness – but if they received one AstraZeneca jab and one Pfizer, in any order, the proportion rose to about 34%”The same real differences applied for other symptoms such as chills, fatigue, headache, malaise and muscle ache,” Prof Snape, the trial’s chief investigator, said. “One things it’s telling us is that you wouldn’t want to vaccinate a ward full of nurses on same day [with mixed doses of different vaccines], because you might have more absenteeism the next day.”In April, the study was expanded, adding another 1,050 volunteers to test combinations of the Moderna and Novavax Covid vaccines alongside the AstraZeneca and Pfizer. VACCINE: When will I get the jab?SOCIAL DISTANCING: How can I meet my friend safely? LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?LOCKDOWN RULES: What are they and when will they end?A DIFFERENT TAKE ON THE BIGGEST FOOTBALL STORIES: From Man U to Watford with The Squad”AT ONE POINT I THOUGHT MY LIFE WAS OVER”: The ‘friendly fire’ in my brainRelated Internet LinksAlternating vaccines study – University of OxfordThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingZaz Hassan survived Covid but, one year on, is still living with the after-effects of the virus. “You live with the hope that you will get better,” Zaz tells me, as he takes a break from his physio class at Croydon University Hospital’s long Covid centre. “For me, the end point would be to get back to work and just play with my kids. It may take time but people are recovering, so there is still the hope that I can come out of this.”The paediatric doctor, 42, has been off work since March 2020, when he fell ill with Covid-19, at the peak of the first wave. And like many other patients, his recovery has been far from straightforward. ‘Shooting pains’After spending two weeks on a ventilator in intensive care, Zaz was discharged from hospital and felt he was slowly making progress. Then, in September, his young children returned to school. He thinks he probably picked up a cold from one of them, which “completely wiped” him out. Since then, he has been dealing with recurring symptoms, from fatigue to back problems to “shooting pain” in his legs. “It’s like when you have the flu where you absolutely can’t move and your whole body aches,” Zaz says.”You are just absolutely exhausted. The fatigue was a big thing and then I started developing the brain fog, which, for me, was not being able to find words, not being able to speak in sentences.”Long Covid: More than a million affected in February’My fatigue was like nothing I’ve experienced before’Middle-aged women ‘worst affected by long Covid”Long Covid’: Why are some people not recovering?Zaz is one of more than 1,000 patients seen by the long Covid clinic in Croydon. Another 500 are on the waiting list for diagnosis and possible referral to a specialist team for physiotherapy or a heart or lung scan. In an exercise class in the bright hospital gym, Zaz and two other long Covid patients switch tentatively from parallel walking bars to a treadmill and free weights. ‘Misjudge distances’Specialist physiotherapists help with the equipment and compare the men’s progress with previous sessions. The mood is determined – but there is frustration at the slow rate of recovery. “A couple of times I’ve felt I am going to tumble,” Zaz tells the physio he’s working with. “I misjudge distances and feel my legs are going to give way.”

BBCThe fatigue was a big thing and then I started developing the brain fog, which, for me, was not being able to find words, not being able to speak in sentencesZaz Hassan Long Covid patientDr Yogini Raste, a consultant respiratory doctor and one of the people running the Croydon clinic, says: “We see a whole spectrum of patients, from those admitted to intensive care who had a prolonged stay [in hospital] for many weeks.”Then, there are those who were never tested in the first wave, who thought they would get better at home but then started to develop a whole host of strange symptoms.”There is no universally agreed definition of “long Covid” – but it can include a broad range of health problems. The most common are fatigue and a cough, followed by a headache and muscle pain.As with any new medical condition, hard evidence about the prevalence of long Covid is difficult to come by. A survey by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) in March found about one in five people infected still had symptoms five weeks later, with one in seven still sick in some way after 12 weeks.

BBCWe can’t tell these patients how long it’s going to last for, so they are on a bit of a rollercoasterDr Yogini RasteConsultant respiratory doctor And the ONS estimates 1.1 million people were affected in the UK in the four weeks from 6 February. “We can’t tell these patients how long it’s going to last for, so they are on a bit of a rollercoaster,” Dr Raste says. “They might have a few weeks where they feel they are getting better and improving. “Then, just as they are coming out of that tunnel, there is another setback, so that in itself can be a great source of anxiety.”Breathing exercisesThere is no drug approved to treat long Covid. Instead, doctors try to treat individual symptoms of the condition through physiotherapy, speech therapy or breathing exercises. And in some cases, patients are referred on to specialists in cardiology, neurology and respiratory care. The NHS is now planning to open 83 long Covid clinics across England by the end of April, costing £24m in 2021, with more likely to be needed in the future. NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens has said people with long-term after-effects need a “clear front-door” to know where they can access help.In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, treatment for long Covid patients tends to be through existing hospital and GP services, with some dedicated clinics for those discharged from intensive care.But some long Covid patients say they are still having to rely on internet sites for support and advice. ‘More support'”Most people and not getting answers and we appreciate that sometimes there are just no answers to give,” Aasim, one of the other patients in the Croydon physiotherapy class, says. “If you look at social-media platforms, you will see the numbers that are on support groups. We are having to speculate and be our own doctors. “Something there needs to change. We need to be taken more seriously and be given more support.”You can contact and follow Jim Reed on Twitter.What has been your experience of the pandemic? Have you had long Covid? Have you been shielding? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSayUpload pictures or videoPlease read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

If you are reading this page and can’t see the form, you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?SYMPTOMS: What are they and how to guard against them?YOUR QUESTIONS: We answer your queriesTREATMENTS: What progress are we making to help people?COVID IMMUNITY: Can you catch it twice?Related Internet LinksOffice for National StatisticsLong-term effects of coronavirus (long COVID) – NHS.websiteThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.