Covid: First UK death recorded with Omicron variant

[speak easy]

Source: BBC

At least one person in the UK has died with the Omicron coronavirus variant, the prime minister has said.

Boris Johnson said the new variant was also resulting in hospital admissions and the "best thing" people could do was get their booster jab.

Visiting a vaccination clinic in London, he said people should set aside the idea Omicron was a milder variant.

On Sunday, the PM set a new target for all adults in England to be offered a booster by the end of the month.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59639007

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There is no evidence (so far) that Omicron causes more severe disease than Delta amongst double vaccinated people, but a whole lot of evidence that a the booster is necessary to protect against new infections. It is the pace of infections that will ultimately put pressure on the hospital system.

[cstanleytech]

1. We all know the virus can kill people so not sure if this is LBN worthy though

if it mutated enough to significantly increase the number of deaths I could understand.

[femmedem]

11. People have been thinking that the Omicron variant causes less severe disease.

And it might very well cause less severe disease than Delta in most instances, but IMO this is newsworthy because people need to know that the Omicron variant is not just like a cold.

[cstanleytech]

12. Umm,it's a variant of the covid virus so of course it's not like the common cold.

[femmedem]

13. It may have picked up some genetic material from the common cold.

They're both coronaviruses, so although they are different, they are related.

More info on the shared genetics and what it means here: https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/96102

[Tomconroy]

2. Since Boris is an ex-editor of The Spectator magazine I

assume he uses language with precision.
I read an article that reported several people were admitted to UK hospitals for other reasons and then tested positive for the Omicron variant

Dying 'with' Omicron may be different than dying 'because' of Omicron.

[The Magistrate]

8. That's An Interesting Point, Sir

Though I would not expect Johnson to be precise in his usage.

[speak easy]

9. There is some delay between a death in hospital and the pathology report

attributing the cause(s) of death. Respiratory failure may be straightforward ... but the case will still have to go through path.

[speak easy]

3. You will find the story carried prominently on the news services.

It is relevant because of speculation that Omicron is a mild variant - and speculation that has some basis in fact - there has not no increase (at all) in recorded COVID deaths in South Africa - despite an explosion of positive cases. That may happen - deaths are a lagging indicator - but it hasn't happened so far.

[janterry]

4. one variable is that south africa

has a population that has already been exposed to several variations of covid. The west will be largely reliant on the vaccinations. So, not sure how that will play out.

Still hopeful......but 'watchful' and 'waiting'

[NickB79]

5. South Africa is also a young population

Median age of 28. Very little diabetes or obesity, two well-known risk factors for severe COVID.

[speak easy]

7. "South Africa is also a young population" - and Delta killed a lot of people.

90,000 deaths are attributed to COVID. The official number of active COVID cases win South Africa on December 12 was 164,128. The official number of COVID deaths on that day was 21.

[speak easy]

6. I remember the horror of Delta sweeping through India

... the longer we don't get a repeat of that ... the better. I follow the hospitalization statistics from South Africa every day.

[yaesu]

10. Imma waiting for more scientific clinical data to come out before I draw any conclusions

I understand why they want to downplay the mild part as getting people to vaxx is hard enough under Delta.