Covid is on the rise across Britain as doctors warn of a little-known symptom impacting people who test positive - night sweats.
Traditional symptoms of loss of taste and smell and a high fever have been replaced with the onset of a sore throat, but also night sweats during the evening.
Health officials are pleading with the public to isolate at the first sign of infection to combat a fourth wave hitting over the autumn and winter, when pressure on the NHS is at its highest.
Approximately 1.1million people in private households tested positive for Covid in the latest week across the UK according to the Office of National Statistics
Speaking back when Omicron first became the dominate strain in the summer professor Luke O'Neill said: "One extra symptom for BA.5 I saw this morning is night sweats.
"The disease is slightly different because the virus has changed.
"There is some immunity to it, with the T cells and so on, and that mix of your immune system and the virus being slightly different might give rise to a slightly different disease - with strangely enough - night sweats being a feature.”
Health bosses are encouraging all those eligible for a Covid booster to come forward as soon as possible.
The Mirror yesterday revealed more than seven million people are in line to get the jab in the latest roll-out as figures show more than five million of those have already had it.
The autumn booster is currently available for all adults aged 50 and over, those aged five to 49 with health conditions that put them at greater risk, pregnant women, care home workers and household contacts of people with weakened immune systems.
There are no plans to roll-out the booster plans to healthy people aged under 50.
NHS director of vaccinations and screening, Steve Russell, told the Mirror: “Thanks to the continued unwavering efforts of NHS staff, just a month into the latest Covid vaccine drive, we have already delivered five million doses of the autumn booster - protecting millions against the worst effects of coronavirus this winter.
“With over 7,000 people currently in hospital with Covid-19, along with a difficult flu season in the Southern Hemisphere, we must not lose sight of why this life-saving vaccine is so important – that is why NHS staff are pulling out all the stops to keep the threat of the ‘twindemic’ at bay this winter, delivering vaccines at thousands of sites across the country every day.
"I urge anyone eligible for a vaccine to book now either online or by calling 119.”
According to the latest data, the percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus rose in England for the week ending September 17, meaning around one in 65 people had the virus.
Approximately 1.1million people in private households tested positive for Covid in the latest UK survey, which covers the seven days to September 17 in England and the week to September 30 in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Office for National Statistics.
