https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/hea ... 455186001/The omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly throughout the United Kingdom and is likely to become the dominant strain of the virus there by the middle of this month, the U.K. Health Security Agency said Friday.
Early data and estimates released by the agency found omicron is more easily transmissible than other variants, the agency said in its latest variant technical briefing.
Other studies suggest that both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are less effective in preventing symptomatic infections in people exposed to omicron, though preliminary data released by the agency showed that effectiveness appears to rise to between 70% and 75% after a third booster dose.
The latest data show 568 confirmed or probable omicron infections as of Dec. 8, up from just two one week earlier. If current trends continue, the U.K. will exceed 1 million omicron infections by the end of December, the health security agency said.
“Once again, we urge everyone who is able to get a booster jab to come forward and do so,” Dr. Jenny Harries, the agency’s chief executive, said in the briefing paper.
While underscoring earlier warnings about the risks posed by the omicron variant, the agency said the data should be treated with caution because the findings are based on early analysis of a small number of cases.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59542211Future pandemics could be more lethal than the current Covid crisis, one of the creators of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has warned. Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, delivering the 44th Richard Dimbleby Lecture, said there needed to be more funding for pandemic preparedness to prevent the advances made from being lost.
She also warned vaccines could be less effective against the Omicron variant. Dame Sarah added that people should be cautious until more was known about it. She said: "This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods. The truth is, the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious, or more lethal, or both.
"We cannot allow a situation where we have gone through all we have gone through, and then find that the enormous economic losses we have sustained mean that there is still no funding for pandemic preparedness," she added. "The advances we have made, and the knowledge we have gained, must not be lost."
"But there are additional changes that may mean antibodies induced by the vaccines, or by infection with other variants, may be less effective at preventing infection with Omicron.
"Until we know more, we should be cautious, and take steps to slow down the spread of this new variant."
However, Dame Sarah said reduced protection against infection and mild disease would not necessarily mean reduced protection against severe illness and death.
She also called for the rapid progress seen in delivering vaccines and medicines during the pandemic to become the norm.
There was no reason why a universal flu jab could not be developed in order to wipe out the threat from influenza, she said.
Professor Gilbert's team at Oxford University created the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, it's the most widely administered vaccine in the world.