What does Covid look like in 2024?

Disease experts are calling for closer monitoring as new variant fuels rise in infections

Illustration of a viral cell, Covid-19 test, syringe and social distancing sign
A forthcoming nasal Covid vaccine may offer more protection against new emerging variants than protection by injection
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

Scientists are calling on the government to monitor Covid levels throughout the year amid a summer wave of cases powered by a new variant.

At the moment, infection rates are measured in the general population only from November to March, and this leaves scientists "short on Covid data" during the rest of the year, said the inews site.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.