Delta was the new variant last December and this time it is the South African variant, but it is Omicron that is causing a lot of problems around the world. On Thursday there were a further two hundred and forty-eight new cases of the omicron variant reported on Thursday 9th December. This brings the total amount of cases of this new variant to eight hundred and seventeen in the UK. Of course, this is a concern for England and the devolved nations, but there have been restrictions put in place to prevent the threat of it and overwhelming the NHS.
This has been referred to as Plan B and they include the following:
Work from home if you can
Face covering to be worn in communal areas like school corridors and areas where social distancing is difficult.
NHS Covid pass to be compulsory in specific settings like night clubs, football grounds etc. – this can be negative PCR test or NHS vaccination.
These measures will be reviewed in a couple of weeks to see if they need more strengthening or relaxing.
The vaccination programme has been a massive success throughout the world and especially the UK. Over one hundred and twenty million vacations distributed to the population of the UK. We have heard it many times the vaccines are the only way back to normality. Although, the vaccines worked against previous variants like Delta there has been much discussion whether they will be effective enough against Omicron.
Originally, the vaccines were just a first dose and second dose, with the elderly being the priority. Following approvals from the JVCI and other health organisations have allowed the Department of Health and Social Care to produce a booster vaccine in addition to the original first two vaccine doses. This will provide extra protection against coronavirus. After some research, it has been released that the third booster jab prevents around 75 percent of people from getting any COVID symptoms. This is huge encouragement for everyone involved in the vaccination programme – the concern of the vaccinations not being helpful against this new variant for now has been put to bed.
The message is simple from the World Health Organisation: take the vaccine to protect yourself and reduce the risk of severe symptoms and follow the guidance being set out.
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