Dec 29, 2021

- Advertisement - Britain’s leader Boris Johnson on Monday barred the imposition of any new COVID-19 restrictions for England at least before the end of this year. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already introduced new restrictions to limit the spread of the Omicron variant. But England is stuck with the current stay-at-home order and increased wearing of masks. The UK has reported more than 12.4 million infections – with another 129,471 on Tuesday – and at least 148,488 deaths since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. - Advertisement - LONDON – The horrific scenes seen in past Covid-19 waves are “now history”, according to John Bell, a Regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford and life science advisor to the UK government. - Advertisement - Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday, Bell analyzed data from the UK, where cases and hospitalizations are breaking records their highest since March , He said the number of people in the ICU who are vaccinated is “very, very few”. “Incidence of serious illness and death from this disease” [Covid] hasn’t changed fundamentally because we’ve all been vaccinated and that’s really important to remember,” he told the BBC. - Advertisement - “The horrific scenes we saw a year ago – intensive care units were full, many people were dying prematurely – it’s history now in my view and I think we should be reassured that this is likely to continue. Is.” Discussing the new Omicron version, he said: “The disease appears to be less severe, and many people spend relatively little time in the hospital, do not require high flow oxygen, the average length of stay is apparently three days. This is not the same disease that we were seeing a year ago.” A UK government study published on Thursday says people are much less likely to be hospitalized with the Covid omicron variant than with the previous delta strain. The UK Health Protection Agency said individuals with omicrons are estimated to be 31% to 45% less likely to attend emergency departments, and 50% to 70% less likely to need hospital admission, compared to those with deltas. is likely to. The analysis is “preliminary and highly uncertain” due to the low number of omicron cases currently in hospitals, but it matches similar findings by scientists from South Africa and research teams at Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh. Although the number of daily deaths remains low and preliminary research suggests the omicron variant is not as severe as other COVID strains, health experts have repeatedly warned that the sheer number of infections could lead to rising deaths and an overwhelmed health care system. system can be. Danny Altman, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, told CNBC via email last week that even if Omicron proves to be “milder” than other strains, the potential caseload could double or triple the number of people hospitalized in the UK. where the virus is widespread – with particular risk for the unrelated. Looking at the UK in particular, he said: “At a time when the NHS (National Health Service) is a) largely overrun by Omicron and b) largely stretched and exhausted after two thankless years at the frontline has happened, it will be unstable,” he said. , saying that “there are no green shoots yet.” CNBC Health & Science Biden says Covid escalation needs to be resolved at state level, pledges full federal support Fauci says US should consider vaccine mandate for domestic air travel New York City rolls back New Year’s Eve festivities in Times Square New studies show that Omicron has a lower risk of hospitalization and is milder than other types Britain’s leader Boris Johnson on Monday barred the imposition of any new COVID-19 restrictions for England at least before the end of this year. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already introduced new restrictions to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, but England is currently stuck with stay-at-home orders and increased wearing of masks. Bell said on Tuesday that Johnson’s lack of action on Monday was “probably fine” and added that the behavior of people in England had changed anyway, many of whom were “quite responsible”. Hospital admissions in London are still less than 400 a day, which is seen as a significant limitation for the government. The UK has reported more than 12.4 million infections – with another 129,471 on Tuesday – and at least 148,488 deaths since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. —CNBC’s Elliot Smith and Ryan Brown contributed to this article. ,