Overview

• The positivity rate rose to 7.6% on 10 August from 5.8% on 26 July, a 31% jump, still below last year’s peaks of 16.6% in July and 14.6% in October.
• Hospitalisation rates remain comparatively low, according to scientists assessing the latest UKHSA surveillance.
• Limited community testing obscures the scale of infections outside hospitals, with experts noting reliance on hospital data.
• Researchers highlight waning immunity and the XPG/Stratus variant, with the return to work and school and cooler weather expected to lift transmission.
• Almost 13 million fewer people will be offered an autumn booster, excluding 65–74-year-olds and groups such as pregnant women and some chronic disease patients.