Oxford scientist: Omicron is not the same disease as a year ago

Omicron “is not the same disease we saw a year ago” and the high mortality rates from COVID in the UK are now history. This was stated by leading immunologist Sir John Bell, chief professor of medicine at Oxford University and government adviser on life sciences, quoted by the Guardian. It is clear from his words that the new version of the coronavirus is very different from its earlier predecessors.

Last year’s horrific scenes of full intensive care units and many people dying prematurely – this is a story in my opinion, ” Bell commented to BBC Radio 4.

He points out that despite increased hospitalizations in recent weeks, the disease now “does not seem so severe” and many people spend relatively little time in hospital. ” Observations show that fewer patients need a high oxygen supply and the average length of stay in a hospital is limited to three days.

It should be noted here that that the vaccination rate in the UK is over 70%.

However, a number of scientists have criticized the government’s decision not to impose additional COVID restrictions in England before New Year’s Eve. Some have described it as “the biggest mismatch between scientific advice and legislation” since the pandemic began. They expressed concern that although the Omicron variant seemed lighter, it was highly contagious, which meant that the number of hospitalized and deaths could rise rapidly.