Former deputy chief medical officer Sir Jonathan Van Tam has warned that Britain's “defence can't go to sleep” against Covid-19, urging the elderly and immunosuppressed to get an Autumn booster jab.
The professor, who was knighted for his role in communicating pandemic guidance during Downing Street briefings, said the virus can still kill and can surge at any time of year, unlike flu which tends to spike around Christmas.
Covid remains a serious threat
In a rare interview with the Mirror, Sir Jonathan said: “This is now one of our recurrent human respiratory viruses, at least for the time being… we must take Covid-19 seriously.”
Despite modern variants being less likely to cause serious symptoms than during the pandemic, NHS England data shows 16,000 people were still hospitalised with Covid-19 last year.
Using one of his famous football analogies, the man dubbed “JVT” during the pandemic said: “It kind of feels like we’re coasting along to a dull nil-nil draw but anything can turn up in the 92nd minute, as we've always seen in football.”
“The defence can't go to sleep [because] that's when things go wrong,” he added.
NHS booster programme
The NHS is offering free jabs to all over 75s, care home residents and anyone with a health condition that means their immune system is suppressed. Pharmacies are also offering private jabs for £85 to £100 for anyone who does not qualify for the free NHS booster.
Sir Jonathan said many people may get Covid-19 and assume they just have a cold. He said: “They might put it down as a cold. They might put it down to Covid in their minds or they might put it down to flu.
“With the greatest respect to doctors, we've never been very good at separating the different respiratory viruses out on the basis of symptoms.”
No seasonal pattern yet
Sir Jonathan said that Covid had not yet developed into a seasonal illness in the way that flu has, meaning cases could surge before winter. He said surveillance data showed there had been a summer surge in Covid in July as Britain was basking in heatwaves.
The professor said: “With flu and with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) - the other two of the big three - you get a very distinct winter peak in the UK. RSV’s a bit earlier typically before Christmas. Flu is typically around Christmas or just after. Covid-19 comes and goes across the year.”
Sir Jonathan and England’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty became household names during the pandemic when they worked around the clock to lead the medical response to the dangerous new virus as the body count increased by the day. They were credited for explaining the science and boosting public compliance with essential public health measures like social distancing and lockdowns.
Life after the pandemic
Sir Jonathan revealed to the Mirror that antivaxxers abused him during the pandemic and told how he has since retired. He lives in a small village near Boston and remains a fervent fan of and season ticket holder at local football club Boston Town.
On taking abuse from antivaxxers online and in person, he said: “Oh yes we all had a bit of that kind of trouble during the pandemic. Thankfully now life is a lot more settled.”
Sir Chris Whitty was also confronted by antivaxxers during the pandemic. A man in Oxford accused him of lying to the public about coronavirus while two men grabbed and filmed him in a London park. Another incident saw a group of people gathered chanting and shouting outside what was thought to be Sir Chris's London flat.
Sir Jonathan added: “Life is much more manageable now. I have retired from all major salaried work, and I just do some consulting and some speaking. Generally people don't recognise me these days, which is kind of god really. Occasionally somebody just says ‘thank you’.”
Professor Van Tam spoke to the Mirror as a new vaccine by biopharmaceutical firm HIPRA and made by Accord Healthcare was added to the NHS Autumn booster programme.
