Covid-19: Cases rise in England and Wales as hospital admissions remain steady
BMJ 2022; 378 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o2307 (Published 23 September 2022) Cite this as: BMJ 2022;378:o2307
The number of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 has increased in England and Wales but decreased in Northern Ireland and Scotland, latest data show.1
The Office for National Statistics has estimated that around one in 70 people in England tested positive in the week ending 14 September 2022, a rise from one in 75 the previous week. In Wales the number rose from one in 110 people to one in 75.
Meanwhile, in Scotland one in 155 people tested positive in the week ending 13 September 2022, a drop from around one in 45 the week before. In Northern Ireland cases fell from around one in 55 to one in 80.
Over a similar period (the week ending 18 September) the ONS reported that admissions to hospital of patients with confirmed covid-19 (4.91 per 100 000) and intensive care units and high dependency units (0.16 per 100 000) were the lowest seen since early June (weeks ending 5 and 13 June, respectively).2
Vaccine uptake
The ONS also released data on covid vaccine uptake by secondary school pupils. It found that around two thirds (62.4%) of those aged 12 to 15 years had received at least one dose and 45.3% had received at least two doses by the end of July. Of those aged 16 to 17 years, 80.5% had received at least one dose, 69.8% at least two doses, and 29.5% at least three doses.3
Among those aged 12 to 15 years, rates were lowest among pupils from the Gypsy or Roma (15.8%) and Black Caribbean (16.5%) ethnic groups. Those who spoke English as an additional language (47.2%), had special educational needs (57.2%), were living in the most deprived areas (44.8%), and who were eligible for free school meals (44.3%) also had lower rates.
However, parents’ vaccination status was found to have the largest effect. Pupils aged 12 to 15 who were living in a household where at least one parent had received three or more vaccine doses were the most likely to have received a vaccine (81.6% received at least one dose and 63.0% at least two).
In comparison, these numbers were much lower among those where at least one parent had received two doses but no parent had received three: 30.5% received at least one dose and 12.4% at least two. Among pupils living in a household where no parents were vaccinated, 5.3% had received at least one dose and 2.1% at least two.
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