Omicron: Another 'more infectious variant will come' says doctor
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This is because Omicron BA.2 looks like it could be more transmissible than Omicron BA.1.
If a virus is more transmissible, this means it can infect more people and spread faster.
As a result, more individuals could find themselves seriously ill or in hospital, putting added pressure on the NHS.
On the other hand, BA.2 could be following the trend of a lot of viruses and becoming more transmissible, but less serious as it mutates.
The main problem that scientists have with BA.2 is that they don’t have a complete working understanding of just how problematic or unproblematic this new variant could be.
As it stands in the UK, BA.2 makes up around 9 percent of cases compared with 8 percent in the United States.
With regards to its transmissibility health officials from Denmark estimate that it could be around one and a half times more transmissible.
There is so far no evidence to suggest that BA.2 is more likely to evade the protection of vaccines with Dr Egon Ozer saying that vaccines still “keep people from dying”.
The rise in the number of BA.2 cases is yet another point on the Government’s long COVID-19 to do list.
During the winter, England took a different approach to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Other than implementing Plan B restrictions, England kept from implementing any further curbs.
In contrast, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland each put in place restrictions on social distancing and hospitality businesses.
Away from the past and into the present, the Government has U-turned over the policy of mandatory vaccination.
Specifically, for NHS staff.
Originally, staff would not have been able to work in the health service if they were unvaccinated.
However, amidst a storm of criticism over how this could exacerbate staff shortages that are stretching some trusts to breaking point, the government has backed down.
Going forward, as cases of Omicron BA.1 begin to slowly decline in some parts of the country and case figures nationally begin to drop, there is some hope that COVID-19 could move from a pandemic back to an epidemic.
A lot needs to happen for that transition to occur, however.
Case rates need to continue to fall, as do hospitalisations.
The UK, along with the rest of the world, also needs to hope to see if Omicron BA.2 is a flat sequel to Omicron BA.1
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