It was estimated last week that almost 5 million people in the UK are thought to have Covid-19, an all-time high figure. Scientists said that hospital admissions and deaths are rising but not as much as they would like.
The original Omicron version of the virus that swept the UK at the beginning of the year is even more transmissible than the variant BA.2 which is driving the jump in case numbers.
As the nation prepares to enjoy its Easter holidays, the government has ended free testing for the virus. There is fear that the UK could be affected by further increases in case numbers, followed by rises in hospital admissions and deaths.
Warmer weather will allow more and more people to mix out of doors where they are less likely to get sick from each other. The outcome is not clear. What is the trajectory of the disease for the rest of the year? What should be done to limit the spread of Covid-19?
Should mask-wearing regulations remain strict?
Professor Paul Hunter says that he doesn't think so unless you are particularly vulnerable. It is likely that people who haven't been wearing masks are less susceptible to the disease.
Professor Kao of Edinburgh University supports the idea that cloth masks have less effectiveness against Omicron due to its higher transmissibility.
Peter English believes that mask-wearing still has an important role to play in limiting the spread of Covid. Some people remain at high risk from Covid-19. They can't protect themselves by wearing a mask. They rely on others to protect them.
Is the UK going to peak infections soon?
It will peak in the next couple of weeks in England and Wales, followed by two to three weeks of Covid deaths.
Hunter says that infections may have peaked around 21 March, but given that the ONS survey is a prevalence survey and always published a week behind we should not expect to see falling estimates until next week.
It will be difficult to tell if the picture is real or not.
Are we going to get a Covid-free summer?
The Covid-19 will persist through summer and into autumn, unlike flu, which will disappear almost completely during spring and summer.
The seasonal behavior of flu is different from the common colds that are caused by coronaviruses, but with peaks in autumn and winter.
Hunter was behind this point and he said that infections will continue even if there is a new variant.
Two years of coronaviruses: how it spread around the world.
We only diagnose about one in seven to one in eight new infections and this may change. The rate of hospitalisations per infections is lower than it has been in the past, so hopefully we won't see many Covid-19 hospitalisations during the summer.
There will be a drop in immune protection unless all adults are offered boosters for the vaccine. It is likely that there will be more Omicron infections circulating, though we still expect the overall level to drop compared to now.
What should the direction of vaccine development be?
English highlighted several key areas where efforts should be directed to improve vaccines. He told the Observer that they would like to have vaccines that induce longer- lasting immunity.
In addition, it would be helpful to develop new methods of vaccine administration such as nasal sprays and vaccines that have been updated to match circulating variant as well as Covid-19 vaccines which can be given in combination with flu vaccines.
We may need an annual vaccine against Covid-19 due to waning immunity. It would make sense to combine the two in a single jab.
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