United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that England will face an “omicron emergency” and that a “tidal wave” of cases is coming soon, per BBC News.
- “No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming,” Johnson said Sunday.
Johnson’s message targeted unvaccinated individuals and those who have yet to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster. His comments came after the United Kingdom increased its COVID-19 alert level to level four, which suggests high transmission in the region, according to Reuters.
- “I’m afraid we’re now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant Omicron,” he said.
- “At this point our scientists cannot say that Omicron is less severe,” he said. “And even if that proved to be true, we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of Omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalization that could overwhelm our NHS and lead sadly to very many deaths.”
A new study from researchers at the University of Oxford — which was published online Monday through the medRxiv server — found that those who are double vaccinated are vulnerable to the omicron variant and that booster shots provide extra protection.
- Indeed, Pfizer said that its COVID-19 vaccine booster shot can protect people against the omicron variant, according to The Associated Press.