UK Health Security Agency syndromic data for epidemiological week 39 showed COVID-like GP consultation rates climbing most sharply among people aged 65 and over, while acute respiratory indicators in children stabilised after early-September rises.
The bulletin, updated Friday, draws on NHS 111, GP in-hours and out-of-hours systems. Adult emergency department attendances for asthma continued to increase in the 15–44 cohort, but paediatric asthma visits held steady. Influenza-like illness remained within seasonal expectations, though virologists cautioned that school half-term travel could reseed transmission.
What hospitals are planning
NHS England's regional teams used the surveillance note to confirm booster outreach timing for care homes. Pharmacy chains reported steady walk-in demand for flu jabs, separate from COVID autumn programmes. Officials stressed syndromic signals are early warnings, not laboratory counts; PCR and wastewater data will confirm whether a COVID wave is building or GP coding habits shifted.
Household guidance
UKHSA repeated advice for symptomatic adults to avoid care home visits and to use 111 online before attending ED unless breathless. Employers in central London were told to expect higher short-term sickness in older back-office roles, mirroring patterns seen in 2024's autumn bump.
Vaccination remains the primary lever; uptake among over-75s trailed last year's pace by two percentage points in mid-September. Health ministers said additional pop-up clinics will open in shopping centres from next week, targeting the gap without mandating workplace doses.
Regional patterns
Midlands and north-west NHS trusts reported the steepest week-on-week rises in COVID-like syndromic codes, while London held flatter. Paediatric emergency departments in coastal towns saw a small bump tied to half-term travel, virologists said. Wastewater sites in Yorkshire showed upward RNA traces consistent with GP trends, though not yet at 2024 winter peaks.
Care home operators asked for clearer guidance on visitor testing when rates rise in nearby postcodes, a request UKHSA said it would address in next week's bulletin.