Christmas shoppers in London on December 23, 2021.
Hassan Esen | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
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LONDON – The gruesome scenes seen in previous waves of Covid-19 are “now history”, according to John Bell, professor of medicine at Oxford University and life sciences adviser to the British government.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday, Bell analyzed data from the UK, where record-breaking cases and hospital admissions in Highest level since March. He said the number of people in intensive care units who had been vaccinated was still “very, very low.”
Severe illness and death from this disease [Covid] It hasn’t fundamentally changed since we’ve all been vaccinated and that’s very important to remember.”
“The horrific scene we saw a year ago – full intensive care units, a lot of people dying prematurely – that is dated now in my opinion and I think we have to believe that it is likely to continue.”
Discussing the new omicron variant, he added: “The disease does not appear to be particularly severe, many people spend a relatively short time in hospital, do not require high-flow oxygen, and the average length of hospital stay appears to be three days, i.e. not the same illness that caused the disease. we’ll see. a year ago”.
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A UK government study published on Thursday He said people were much less likely to be hospitalized with the omicron Covid variant than the previous Delta strain.
The UK’s Health Safety Administration says individuals with Omicron are estimated to be 31% to 45% less likely to go to the emergency department compared to those with Delta, and 50% to 70% less likely to be hospitalized.
This analysis is ‘preliminary and highly uncertain’ due to the small number of omicron cases currently in hospital, But it matches up with similar findings by scientists in South Africa and a research team at Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh.
Although the daily death toll remains low and early research suggests that the omicron variant is not as severe as other types of Covid, health experts have repeatedly warned that the large number of infections could lead to increased deaths and burden the health care system.
Danny Altman, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, told CNBC by email last week that while the Omicron has proven to be “lighter” than other strains, the number of potential cases could double or triple the number of people requiring hospitalization. The UK, where the virus is common – with particular risks for the unvaccinated.
Looking at the UK in particular, he said: “At a time when the NHS (National Health Service) is a) massively drained by omicron and (b) massively weighed down after two years on the front lines, it would be unbelievable. Defend him,” adding that “there are no green shoots yet.”
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UK leader Boris Johnson steps down on Monday Assuming something new COVID-19 Restrictions in the UK, at least before the end of this year.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have started new restrictions to curb the spread of the omicron variant, but the UK is sticking to existing requests to stay at home and increasing the wearing of masks.
Bale said on Tuesday that Johnson’s failure to act on Monday was “perhaps a good thing” and noted that people’s behavior in Britain had changed, with many of them being “largely responsible”. Hospital admissions remain below 400 a day in London, which is seen as a critical threshold for the government.
The UK has reported more than 12.4 million infections – with another 129,471 as of Tuesday – and at least 148,488 deaths since the pandemic emerged in early 2020, according to data carried out by Johns Hopkins University.
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– CNBC’s Elliot Smith and Ryan Brown contributed to this article.
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