First Omicron Death In UK As New Variant Spreads Like Wildfire

First Omicron Death In UK As New Variant Spreads Like Wildfire
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13 December 2021
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London:  Britain on Monday confirmed what is thought to be the first confirmed death after infection with the Omicron variant, as the country launched an ambitious Covid booster shot programme to stop the virus spiralling out of control.

On a visit to a vaccination centre in west London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Omicron accounted for about 40 percent of the cases in the British capital, and hospital admissions were rising.

"Sadly, at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron," he told reporters, a day after warning that the country faces a "tidal wave" of infection.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) told AFP: "It appears indeed that this is the first confirmed Omicron death."

But the Centre said many cases around the world were not genome-sequenced, so it was "impossible to know whether this is the first Omicron death".

In South Africa, where the virus mutation was first identified, no deaths linked to Omicron have been officially announced, the department of health said.

Britain -- one of the worst-hit countries with 146,000 Covid deaths since last year -- on Sunday sounded the alarm because of high levels and rising rates of transmission.

Johnson said in a rare televised address that emergency measures were needed to prevent hospitals becoming overwhelmed in the weeks ahead.

All adults can now receive a third Covid vaccine by the end of December -- a month earlier than a previous government deadline.

'Turbocharged'

The National Health Service (NHS) vaccination booking site crashed almost immediately and users requesting rapid testing kits were told they were out of stock.

Long queues were seen at London clinics. At one, Sarah Jackson, 29, said she had taken the morning off to get a jab before visiting her grandparents at Christmas.

"I don't know if it's going to be enough. I was told there is a queue of two hours to register and then two hours to get vaccinated," she told AFP.

"But I have to go back to work at 1:30 pm."

The "turbocharged" booster programme has seen 750 armed forces personnel drafted in to set up extra vaccination centres to be run around the clock by medics and volunteers.

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