Experts warn of avalanche level of COVID infections in the near future
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is probably the biggest threat of the COVID pandemic to date, according to the head of the British public health department. He warned that a “staggering” increase in infections is expected in the coming days.
The head of the UK Health Safety Agency calls the Omicron COVID variant “probably the most significant threat” since the pandemic began amid warnings of an impending surge in hospital admissions.
According to The Guardian, Dr. Jenny Harris told MPs that it was too early to judge the potential risk of a new COVID variant, and warned that the virus was “growing faster,” advising MPs to expect “staggering” growth rates from last year in the coming years. days.
“This is probably the most serious threat we have faced since the beginning of the pandemic, and I am confident, for example, that the numbers that we will see based on the data over the next few days will be quite staggering,” says Dr. Harris. – The real potential risk here – and I would like to emphasize this as we still have a lot to learn about this option – is related to its severity, clinical severity, and therefore whether these cases progress to serious illness, hospitalization and death. We’re still too early for that. In fact, the world is probably still too early to be clear. “
The comments came as the head of England’s NHS said the rise in Omicron infections could result in more COVID patients being hospitalized than at the peak of the pandemic.
The seven-day average for daily hospitalizations in England is currently 752. But Amanda Pritchard, executive director of England’s National Health Service, told MPs that the number of hospitalizations could exceed the number seen last winter. The record maximum so far is 3812 people on January 9.
In submitting evidence to the Public Accounts Committee, Pritchard said health officials are rushing to scale up booster vaccine deployment, “while preparing for a potentially significant wave of hospitalizations.” She added: “We do not know what will happen next. But at the moment there are signs that this time it could be as big or even larger than the previous wave. So we are preparing for this. “
The NHS found itself in a crisis when hospitals in England were ordered to discharge as many patients as possible.
For his part, Professor Stephen Powys, medical director for England’s NHS, said that while he hoped the wave of Omicron infections would not seriously hurt efforts to close the care gap, hospital surgeries could be canceled.
Recently, the most senior adviser to the British government on public health issues, Dr. Susan Hopkins, told MPs that by the end of December, the number of cases of infection with “Omicron” in the UK could reach 1 million per day.
See also: Comparison of Omicron and Delta coronaviruses confused scientists
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