Boris Johnson says Omicron to bring 'tidal wave' of cases
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The dire warning comes a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared an “emergency” in the fight against Omicron. According to new research pre-published by researchers from the University of Oxford, covid vaccines were shown to induce lower levels of neutralising antibodies when faced with the new coronavirus variant of concern. The researchers analysed blood samples from people who have already received both doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
The study, which was published on the pre-print server MedRxiv, showcased a “substantial decrease” in neutralising titres – a measure of neutralising antibodies that are formed in response to being vaccinated or infected with COVID-19.
The findings suggest the Omicron variant may drive a new wave of infections even among vaccinated people.
According to the researchers, the results align with data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which showed reduced effectiveness against symptomatic disease, due to Omicron, when compared to the Delta variant.
However, the effectiveness was shown to improve with a third, booster dose of a Covid vaccine.
And there has been no evidence to date to suggest the Omicron variant increases the risk of severe Covid, hospitalisation or death among the vaccinated.
Professor Gavin Screaton, Head of the University’s Medical Sciences Division, and lead author of the paper, said: “These data will help those developing vaccines, and vaccination strategies, to determine the routes to best protect their populations, and press home the message that those who are offered booster vaccination should take it.
“Whilst there is no evidence for increased risk of severe disease, or death, from the virus amongst vaccinated populations, we must remain cautious, as greater case numbers will still place a considerable burden on healthcare systems.”
On Sunday, the Department for Health and Social Care raised the UK’s Covid Alert Level from 3 to 4 in response to the Omicron threat and “the increasing risk to the public and healthcare services”.
On Sunday, the latest UKHSA figures showed 48,854 new cases of Covid and 52 death within 28 days of a positive result.
An additional 1,239 cases of Omicron have also been reported across the country, adding up to a total of 3,137 infections.
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