Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
The UK has confirmed the world's first official Omicron death as Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to rule out tighter restrictions before Christmas.
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic near Paddington in west London, the prime minister said: “Sadly, yes, Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.
“So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.”
His spokesman suggested it was because of the UK's advanced genome sequencing that the death had been discovered.
On Thursday the World Health Organisation had said Omicron had spread to 58 countries but there were no confirmed deaths of people who had contracted the variant.
While South Africa has blamed Omicron for a sharp rise in excess deaths, it has yet to confirm any fatality directly linked to the variant.
Mr Johnson repeatedly declined to rule out further coronavirus restrictions before Christmas as he said the goal is to offer a booster to every adult by the end of the year.
He said the strain will be responsible for the majority of infections in London by Tuesday, and has warned of a “tidal wave” of cases across the country.
The first UK cases of Omicron were only confirmed on November 27 and the speed of its spread has alarmed ministers and prompted a dramatic acceleration of the booster jab programme.
Mr Johnson said on Monday: “We can see Omicron spiking now in London and some other parts of the country.
“Here, in the capital, it probably represents about 40 per cent of the cases. By tomorrow, it will be the majority of the cases and it’s increasing the whole time.”
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs later: “There are now 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK.
“And the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the current number of daily infections are around 200,000.
“While Omicron represents over 20 per cent of cases in England, we’ve already seen it rise to over 44 per cent in London and we expect it to become the dominant Covid 19 variant in the capital in the next 48 hours.”
Earlier, Mr Javid said 10 people with Omicron were in hospital in England as he urged the public to get a third shot of a vaccine.
On the spread of Omicron, Mr Javid said “we haven’t seen anything like this before”, with a million cases expected by the end of December.
The government said that as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 54,661 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK.
It also said a further 38 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
On Sunday Mr Johnson announced that the UK's booster programme would be speeded up significantly due to the anticipated “tidal wave of Omicron” that could cause “very many deaths”.
The target for giving every adult in England a booster shot has been brought forward by a month. Every adult over 18 in England who received a second dose of a vaccine at least three months ago will be able to have their booster from today.
Mr Javid said ministers had set themselves a “phenomenal target” with the booster campaign to tackle Omicron. “We are throwing everything at it,” he said.
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A box of lateral flow test kits purchased in Cornwall, UK on December 16, 2021. The UK has seen a shortage of PCR appointments and home-testing kits in recent days. Hugh Hastings / Getty Images -
The British government's website displays a message that there are no Covid-19 lateral flow home test kits available to order on December 13, 2021. AFP -
People queue for Covid-19 booster jabs at Sevenoaks in Kent. PA -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Stow Health vaccination centre, in Westminster, London. At least one person in the UK has died with the Omicron variant. AP Photo -
A man wears a face mask while walking in an empty street in the financial district, known as The City, in London. AP Photo -
People queue outside a walk-in vaccination centre at St Thomas' Hospital in Westminster. Getty Images -
Paddington Station in London is quiet on Monday morning, as government's latest work-from-home guidance to stem the spread of the coronavirus came into effect. PA -
Motorists drive along a quiet M40 motorway on Monday morning near Warwick. PA -
Boris Johnson urged people to have a booster vaccine as he gave a warning of a 'tidal wave' of infections caused by the Omicron variant when he addressed the nation on Sunday evening. AP Photo -
Some shoppers wear face coverings as they walk along Oxford Street in central London. AFP -
An actor wearing a face mask has their head piece adjusted before before a dress rehearsal for the Wintershall Estate's nativity play held in a barn on the estate in Guildford, Surrey. PA -
A visitor to St Thomas' Hospital in London wearing personal protective equipment. Reuters -
Fans outside Selhurst Park before the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton pass a sign reminding them to socially distance, in south London. Reuters -
People wear face masks as they exit Westminster underground station in London. AP Photo -
A security guard stands by a sign asking customers to wear face masks at a store in London. Reuters -
Christmas shoppers wearing face masks on Oxford street in London. Reuters -
Skaters, most wearing face coverings, skate on the ice rink at the Natural History Museum in central London. AFP -
A shopper in a Santa hat and wearing a face covering to combat the spread of the coronavirus walks through Covent Garden in central London. AFP -
Fans outside the Etihad Stadium in Manchester sanitise their hands before attending a match. Reuters
The health secretary said scientific research has shown that two doses of a vaccine is “not enough” to protect a person against Omicron, but a third dose would offer “excellent protection” against symptomatic infection from the variant.
In an interview on Sky News, he made a direct appeal to the public to come forward when they are called for their third shot of a vaccine.
“Please play your part, this could not be more important,” he said. “We need to win this race against the growth of this virus, we’ve never seen this kind of growth before.
“So please do come forward, protect yourselves, your loved ones and your community.”
Mr Javid said it was “unfair” to argue that the surge in Omicron cases in the UK could be caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine not being strong enough to stave off Covid-19. He said regardless of whether a person has received the AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, everyone would need a booster shot to protect against Omicron.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Javid said research made it clear that the UK was in a “race between the virus and the vaccine”.
“The new data, that’s the data on the vaccine and the effectiveness against Omicron, is very recent data and that is why we have now made this decision to set a new national mission,” he said.
He said 23 million boosters have already been given and four in 10 adults in England now have had three doses of a vaccine.
Some routine health appointments may be cancelled while staff are redirected to the booster campaign but patients with urgent health concerns, including signs of cancer, will be “completely unaffected”, Mr Javid said.
Pressed on whether the booster programme could damage the NHS long-term, he said: “What will lead to real harm is if we don’t do this.”
His comments came hours after Mr Johnson announced in a recorded address to the nation broadcast on Sunday evening that ministers were stepping up their battle against Omicron. The prime minister said Britain “must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection” as he set a new deadline of inoculating everyone aged over 18 by the new year.
He said scientists had discovered that being fully vaccinated was “simply not enough” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus mutation and that, without a rapid mass booster campaign, the National Health Service could be overwhelmed.
Amid growing fears of another lockdown if the booster programme fails to effectively tackle Omicron, Mr Johnson said people should rush to get booster vaccines to protect “our freedoms and our way of life".
After his announcement, the pound fell 0.4 per cent to $1.3225. It was broadly steady against the euro at 85.29 pence.
The mission to administer millions of shots by December 31 will involve 42 military planning teams sent across every health region, extra vaccine sites and mobile units, extended clinic opening hours to allow people to be vaccinated around the clock and at weekends, and the training of thousands more volunteer vaccinators.
The UK Covid alert level was raised to Level 4 from Level 3 after a rapid increase in the number of Omicron cases.
As of Sunday, the UK had recorded another 1,239 cases of the strain, bringing the total to 3,137 — a 65 per cent increase week on week — although Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said the actual number was likely to be 10 times as high.
In his address, Mr Johnson said: “We’ve already seen hospitalisations doubling in a week in South Africa and we have patients with Omicron here in the UK right now.
“At this point, our scientists cannot say that Omicron is less severe.
“And even if that proved to be true, we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of Omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalisation that could overwhelm our NHS and lead sadly to very many deaths.
“So we must act now. Today we are launching the Omicron emergency booster national mission, unlike anything we’ve done before in the vaccination programme, to get boosted now.
“A fortnight ago I said we would offer every eligible adult a booster by the end of January. Today, in light of this Omicron emergency, I’m bringing that target forward by a whole month.
“Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the new year.”
Mr Johnson said the UK government would support the devolved administrations to “accelerate” their own introductions of third shots.
He said the decision to speed up the inoculation rate would mean some NHS appointments would be postponed until the new year, and there would be an “even greater” number of cancellations if the Omicron wave was allowed to rise.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the current level of pressure being put on health services was “not sustainable”.
He said a combination of record highs in 999 calls, the second-highest number of emergency department admissions, elective procedure backlogs, the extension of the booster campaign and social care pressure means the NHS was “busier than it’s ever been before”.
He said that even “before the traditional winter peak in January”, hospitals were already “beyond full stretch, but as you’d expect everybody on the NHS front line is doing absolutely the best they can to provide the best possible care”.
He said the prime minister had demanded an “extraordinary effort” from the NHS at a time when staff are “very, very tired”.
“I think staff are worried, to be frank, that this level of pressure is going to become normalised and it’s not sustainable.”
NHS England said people may see their planned appointments cancelled while the health service races to meet the government’s booster target.
GP teams will be asked to “clinically prioritise their services to free up maximal capacity” to support the programme, alongside delivering critical appointments such as cancer, urgent and emergency care.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals and health providers, said it would be “very tough” for staff to double the current rate of vaccines given the fact they are already under “immense pressure”.
He pointed out that the government’s “enormously ambitious plan” came only weeks after Mr Javid unveiled a strategy to name and shame GP surgeries that have a low rate of in-person appointments.
“It’s only a few weeks since politicians were indulging in attacking members of the primary care team for the fact that they weren’t always able to offer face-to-face appointments,” Mr Taylor told the Today programme.
“It’s really important that the government is clear with the public about the consequences it is going to have for the rest of what the health service can offer.”
A new study carried out in the US suggested a person could get more protection from a booster shot if it was administered in the afternoon.
The research from Massachusetts General Hospital showed the time of day a vaccine is administered can affect the number of antibodies produced due to a bodily function.
The 24-hour cycle, known as a circadian rhythm, can have an effect on how seriously some people suffer from diseases and how effective some treatments are.
