In one report, the British government considers Omicron to be a much better protection if you have had a third vaccination. There is also information about the severity of the course of the disease.

An official report that was published on Friday summarizes the potential impact of a third vaccination against the Omicron variant for Great Britain – the first, albeit based on some data. According to this, patients are between 70 and 75 percent protected against Omicron when they receive a booster vaccination. Although the study is based on a small number of patients (131 omicron cases), it can still be assumed that two vaccinations are not sufficient.

“Early estimates of vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic infections find a significantly lower VE against Omicron infections than against delta infections,” said an official report from the UK Department of Health. It is believed that a booster may also help against severe disease, even though accurate data on this is not expected for two weeks. In the studies available so far, significantly higher transmission rates have been estimated.

Also at risk for other contacts

The British update of the situation sees the risk of transmission in the family environment as high as second contact. It is expected that the Omicron virus will be responsible for as many cases as the Delta variant in mid-September. The risk of re-infection is thought to be three to ten times.

So far, there are no known cases of Omicron infected people in the UK who have had to be hospitalized or have died. However, this is also due to the fact that there may be a period between infection and a severe course that is longer than the new version since then.

The Omicron variant was also found in five samples in wastewater that were taken between November 26 and November 28 from four of 477 sewage treatment plants and sewer networks.