Health news round-up: the year in health across England, Scotland and Wales

“Whenever there is an infectious emergency, the public respond remarkably, as they did during COVID-19,” wrote Sir Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, in his annual report published this week.

“Between emergencies it is easy to take for granted the protection from infection that modern medicine invisibly gives us all. The gradual drifting down of rates of vaccination for preventable and potentially severe infections needs to be reversed if we are to provide the best protection from often exceptionally dangerous diseases of children and adults,” the report said.

Outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics are “entirely predictable (although their timing is not)” and infectious emergencies will happen multiple times during our lifetimes.

“We need to keep our capacity to prevent and respond to infections up between events,” he added.

Whitty also stressed the need to avoid overprescription of antibiotics and other antimicrobials.

Read on for more infections and vaccinations news you might have missed this week, from The Pharmaceutical Journal and elsewhere, as well as reports from chief medical officers in Scotland and Wales.

Flu, RSV and whooping cough

Flu cases are on the rise after an early start to the season, with high rates among those aged 5 to 14 years and increasing circulation in younger adults as well as children, latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveal.

A Scottish population-based study (n=27,565) published in The Lancet shows maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination reduces the risk of RSV-related lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) hospital admission in infants aged ≤90 days, including in preterm infants (adjusted vaccine effectiveness vs unvaccinated infants, 82.2% [95% CI 75.1–87.3; P<0·0001]).

Meanwhile, a new nasal spray vaccine for whooping cough may stop the virus living in the nose and throat – suggesting longer lasting protection and reduction in onward transmission, an initial human trial has suggested.

Measles and polio

Measles cases in 2024 increased by 47% in Europe and, globally, just 76% of the world’s children had both doses of their measles vaccine in 2024, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO, said: “Measles is the world’s most contagious virus, and these data show once again how it will exploit any gap in our collective defences against it.

“Measles does not respect borders, but when every child in every community is vaccinated against it, costly outbreaks can be avoided, lives can be saved, and this disease can be eliminated from entire nations.”

Study results published in Nature Microbiology, led by Imperial College London and supported by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), have suggested that the spread of polio needs a cross-border approach.

The authors found that vaccine-derived poliovirus spreads at a consistent median velocity of 2.3 kilometres per day, predominantly between neighbouring countries, although international borders can decrease spread velocity by up to 38%.

The research also suggested that vaccination campaigns should be considered both in countries where cases were detected, as well as in neighbouring countries with low immunity levels. 

Older people and frailty

Whitty’s report also said that healthcare professionals have “not done enough to reduce the risk of infections in the elderly”, including “having too little research into infections in this age group”.

Another report published this week by the National Audit Office found further failings in the care of older people in England, with just 16% of patients diagnosed with severe frailty in 2024/2025 receiving a medication review (SMR; against a requirement of 100%).

Also, a recent review of clinical trials in virtual wards highlighted that pharmacist involvement was associated with better reporting of adverse drug effects.

Obesity and prevention

Elsewhere, Isabel Oliver, chief medical officer for Wales, focused on prevention in her annual report. One area considered was obesity.

“Individual treatment for management of overweight is not about returning an individual to a ‘normal’ weight but about reducing their risk of future ill-health.”

She noted a current focus of attention on pharmaceutical interventions for obesity, saying: “The drug treatments, which must be offered in concert with comprehensive dietary and physical activity support, have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing weight over a relatively short period,” and suggested this could help individuals undertake other activities.

However, Oliver acknowledged they may not be suitable for everyone.

“The approach to supporting people with overweight or obesity involves the provision of stepped clinical support, as envisaged in the All-Wales Weight Management Pathway, with escalating support as weight and with it, the risk of adverse health outcomes increase. Individual treatment for overweight and obesity does not address the environmental conditions or factors that lead to the development of overweight,” she highlighted.

A network meta-analysis recently published by the NIHR found that all behavioural weight management interventions resulted in weight loss compared to usual care. It highlighted the particular success of a 52-week weight-loss programme referrals for adults in primary care (WRAP), as well as a male-only intervention (football fans in training) which demonstrated the largest short-term weight loss. In real-world services considered by the analysis, greater programme attendance was associated with improved outcomes.

In his annual report published earlier this year, Sir Gregor Smith, chief medical officer for Scotland, also highlighted trends in obesity, with 1.5 million people in Scotland predicted to exceed the threshold for obesity by 2040.

He pointed out that obesity costs Scotland £5.3bn each year, causing around 10% of all health loss in Scotland.

Reiterating a joint statement, published in August 2024 by the Scottish Directors of Public Health, Smith said: “A multifaceted, prevention-focused approach that improves the food environment through regulation, taxation, product reformulation, and affordability, is essential to addressing rates of excess weight.”

He also highlighted the importance of interconnected communities and with the natural world.

Also in Scotland, the National Audit Office recently warned that a lack of business case and budget for MyCare.scot — an app for access to Scotland’s health and care services — could pose a risk to its roll-out.