Covid-19 infections in England have dropped by more than two-thirds in the past few weeks, show the initial findings of a survey of prevalence in the community.
The provisional findings from REACT-1’s ninth report, a study on Covid-19 infections in England, were released Thursday by Imperial College London.
More than 85,400 volunteers were tested with throat and nose swabs in England between 4 and 13 February to examine levels of infection in the general population.
The results show that the national prevalence fell by two thirds – from 1.57% to 0.51%, or 51 per 10,000 infected. This is a significant decline in infections compared to the last report from 6 to 22 January. England entered its third national pandemic blockade in January. 6
“These encouraging results show that blocking measures are effectively reducing infections. It is comforting that the reduction in the number of infections has occurred at all ages and in most regions of the country, ”said Paul Elliott, director of Imperial’s program, in a statement.
The decline in prevalence has been greater in some regions, particularly in London, where it has fallen from 2.83% to 0.54% since the last report.
“In London, South East and West Midlands, prevalence has dropped by about 80%, although declines have been less in northern regions,” says the Imperial report.
The prevalence fell substantially in all age groups, with a higher prevalence among those aged 18 to 24 years old by 0.89% and those between 5 and 12 years old by 0.86%, adds the report. The report concludes that while there is a “sharp decline” in the prevalence of coronavirus in England among the general population of five to six weeks in block, it still remains high – “at levels similar to those seen at the end of September 2020.”
There are also even more people hospitalized with Covid-19 than at the peak of the first wave in April 2020.
The UK started its mass vaccination campaign in December, offering vaccines to almost everyone over 70 during January and February. It has given more than 15 million people the first dose.
“The drop in prevalence was similar among those aged 65 and over compared to other age groups, suggesting that if vaccines are effective in reducing transmission as well as disease, this effect is not yet a major driver of prevalence trends . Therefore, the observed falls described here are likely due to reduced social interactions during the blockade, ”says the report.
“We still don’t know whether vaccination prevents someone from transmitting the virus to others,” added the UK Department of Health.
However, on Tuesday, the UK’s Office of National Statistics reported that almost 41% of those over 80 in England tested positive for antibodies “probably due to the high rate of vaccination in this group”.