By Ben Kerrigan-
Boris Johnson’s spokesman has expressed pleasure that the number of patients requiring ventilation support had not increased to the same extent in line with admissions.
Downing Street’s press representative said: “We keep a very close eye on NHS capacity, that’s something we track very closely.
“We know that admissions and occupancy are increasing significantly at the moment – we’re not seeing that same jump in beds requiring ventilation, which is pleasing, and almost certainly a function of both the nature of Omicron and our successful booster programme.
“But we keep an extremely close eye on NHS capacity at all times.”
Asked whether the number of people in intensive care (ICU) was playing an “important role in the prime minister’s thinking” on how to handle the Omicron spike, the Downing Street spokesman replied: “It is one aspect that informs how the NHS is dealing with this current wave.”
He added that the booster programme and “evidence that Omicron may be milder” meant “we are not seeing those huge waves in cases translate into those needing the most serious care that we saw perhaps in previous waves, but that still puts the NHS under significant pressure”.
Asked whether the number of people in intensive care (ICU) was playing an “important role in the prime minister’s thinking” on how to handle the Omicron spike, the Downing Street spokesman replied: “It is one aspect that informs how the NHS is dealing with this current wave.”
He added that the booster programme and “evidence that Omicron may be milder” meant “we are not seeing those huge waves in cases translate into those needing the most serious care that we saw perhaps in previous waves, but that still puts the NHS under significant pressure”.
His comments come as an official of the World Health Organisation said there was more evidence is emerging that the Omicron Covid variant causes milder symptoms than previous strains, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said.
WHO Incident Manager Abdi Mahamud said that “more studies” were “pointing out that Omicron is infecting the upper part of the body” and not causing severe disease such as pneumonia.
Mahamud told reporters at a conference in Geneva that the variant’s high transmissibility means it will become dominant within weeks in many places, posing a threat in countries where a high portion of the population remains unvaccinated.
Hospital admissions due to Covid are also said to have “plateaued” in London, but rising across the rest of the UK, a health boss has warned.
However, The Eye Of Media.Com last week highlighted a Daily Mail Online investigation which revealed that statistics about hospital admissions related to Covid-19 are inaccurate because a high percentage of those in hospital with Covid-19 were admitted to hospital for other related illness and were falsely included in the statistics associated with Covid-19 after being tested for the virus in hospital. Hospitalisation statistics associated with Covid-19 includes patients admitted with broken legs, broken ankles, heart attack, and even those in mental health wards with mental health issues.
The inclusion of patients in the above groups with those hospitalised with Covid-19 gives a wholly false representation of those hospitalised with Covid-19.
Until an accurate representation of those hospitalised with Covid-19 is given, news associated with hospitalisation rates related with the virus should not be trusted.
Meanwhile, a Covid booster designed to work against multiple variants shows promise, early data suggests.The first results of a phase one trial, launched in Manchester in September 2021, indicate the jab has strong levels of neutralising antibodies and could induce a comprehensive immune response. The booster is similar to approved mRNA vaccines (like Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna), but at up to a 10-fold lower dose in the first 10 individuals, the research indicates.