Sixty seconds on . . . the “twindemic”

Abstract

Although the rate of multiple births in the UK has been rising over the past 20 years, it's starting to slow down, in line with singleton births. 1 But this isn't about twins. We're talking about the dual epidemics of flu and covid-19 which will be in circulation this winter. Oh, brother!Indeed. Public health officials are certainly getting worried. Last week the UK Health Security Agency urged parents to vaccinate their 2 and 3 year old children against flu this year, because of fears over a lack of natural immunity caused by reduced exposure during the pandemic. 2 All those eligible for a flu vaccine should also book their jab, it said. The deadly twins?Possibly. An analysis by health analytics company Airfinity has estimated that hospitals in England could see more than 7500 people admitted to hospital every week in January 2023 with covid-19 or flu (under different scenarios, such as vaccination status). This surpasses the previous threshold of 4000 weekly admissions for covid-19 which triggered lockdowns. 3 NEWSThe BMJ