
Share
12th December 2021
05:47pm GMT

The chief medical officers have stated that there is early evidence which shows the Omicron variant is spreading much faster than Delta variant.
They added that the effectiveness of the vaccine against symptomatic disease from Omicron is also reduced."The NHS is currently under pressure mainly driven by non-Covid pressures. With a variant spreading with increased transmissibility and reduced vaccine effectiveness, we are likely to see this pressure rise soon."
The message from the chief medical officers has been to get vaccinated, as well as getting the booster jab, when eligible to do so. They also suggested that people should continue to wear masks, continue to get tested, keep rooms ventilated and self-isolate when required. An additional 1,239 daily cases of Omicron were also announced on Saturday, which takes the official total number of Omicron cases in the UK to 3,137Over half a million booster jabs and third doses were given in the UK on Saturday, but it remains unclear how well vaccines work against the Omicron variant.
Related links:Explore more on these topics: