UK: Omicron infections could exceed one million by New Year

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The UK Health Security Agency estimates that the number of infections will be around 20 times higher than the number of confirmed cases and so the number of infections is closer to 10,000. UKHSA estimate that at the current observed doubling rate of between 2.5 and 3 days, by the end of this month infections could exceed a million.

UK Health Secretary’s oral statement to Parliament on COVID-19 and Plan B

 

The UKHSA assessment suggests that Omicron is displaying a significant growth advantage over Delta, meaning that it is likely to outcompete Delta in the UK and become the dominant variant.

If the growth rate and doubling time continue at the rate we have seen in the last 2 weeks, we expect to see at least 50% of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases to be caused by Omicron variant in the next 2 to 4 weeks.

UKHSA Omicron update 8th December 2021

 

 

USA: CDC quietly backs away from herd immunity

 

 

Image by Fabien Huck from Pixabay

** This post was originally published on December 9, 2021 **