The Sun
COVID cases have hit another record high for the third day running, with 93,000 infections reported by the Government.
The Omicron variant is behind the surge – it is now dominant in England and Scotland, officials announced today.
Confirmed cases of the super infectious strain across the UK have jumped up by a third today.
As the Omicron wave grows, more data proves the booster vaccine is the best protection against both infection and severe disease.
The Sun is urging readers to sign up to our life saving Jabs Army campaign to make the rollout as smooth and fast as possible.
A new study today has shown that a top-up dose WILL protect against Omicron severe disease, even if to a slightly lower efficacy than against previous strains.
After a booster, protection against severe disease and therefore hospitalisation from Omicron is 80 per cent, Imperial College London has estimated.
It bolsters previous work from the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) that says three doses are 75 per cent protective against symptomatic infection.
The staggering 93,000 cases today is up on the 88,376 reported yesterday, and 78,610 on Wednesday – all breaking the previous record of 68,053 on January 8.
Cases were likely to have reached similar heights in the first Covid wave of spring 2020. But due to lack of testing then, there is no data to compare to.
Another 111 tragic Covid deaths were also added onto the coronavirus dashboard today, with daily fatalities remaining stable.
But hospitalisations are on the rise, with the week’s total of 6,056 eight per cent higher than last week.
Across the UK, 7,611 people are in hospital with the virus, a rise of two per cent in a week.
But in London, inpatients have jumped by 25 per cent in one week, with the capital treating 1,534 Covid patients.
