World
UK Brexit minister quits as new COVID rules spark anger
A senior member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet resigned Saturday night, adding to a sense of disarray within a government that has faced rebellion from his own lawmakers and voters this week.
Brexit Minister David Frost said in a letter to Johnson that he was stepping down immediately after a newspaper reported that he had planned to leave the post next month.
Frost said the process of leaving the EU would be a long-term job. “That is why we agreed earlier this month that I would move on in January and hand over the baton to others to manage our future relationship with the EU,'' he said in his resignation letter.
READ: Dr Momen, UK Minister Raab to meet to chart post-Brexit new strategic partnership vision
However, the Mail on Sunday said earlier that he resigned because of growing disillusionment with Johnson’s policies. The newspaper said Frost’s decision was triggered by last week’s introduction of new pandemic restrictions, including a requirement that people show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test to enter nightclubs and other crowded venues.
And in his resignation letter, Frost said the UK needed to “learn to live with Covid. ... You took a brave decision in July, against considerable opposition, to open up the country again. Sadly it did not prove to be irreversible, as I wished, and believe you did too. I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere.”
The news follows a stunning defeat for Johnson’s Conservative Party in a by-election Thursday in North Shropshire, a long-time party stronghold. Earlier this week, 99 Conservative lawmakers voted against so-called vaccine passports in the House of Commons, the biggest rebellion in Johnson’s 2 1/2 years as prime minister.
Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, said Johnson isn’t up to the job as the omicron variant drives a spike in coronavirus infections.
“A government in total chaos right when the country faces an uncertain few weeks″ Rayner tweeted. “We deserve better than this buffoonery.″
Even some of Johnson’s own party members piled on.
“The prime minister is running out of time and out of friends to deliver on the promises and discipline of a true Conservative government,″ tweeted Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen. “Lord Frost has made it clear, 100 Conservative lawmakers have made it clear, but most importantly, so did the people of North Shropshire.″
Frost led talks with the European Union as Johnson’s government sought to re-negotiate terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc.
His resignation comes after the UK recently softened its stance in the talks with the EU over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland. The change of tone from Britain came as a surprise to many because it seemed at odds with the hardline position of the Brexit minister, who was nicknamed “Frosty the No Man.”
READ: EU tightens vaccine export rules, creates post-Brexit outcry
Johnson's government is also under fire over reports that officials held Christmas parties last year when pandemic rules barred such gatherings.
Adding to his problems with the so-called partygate scandal, Johnson's choice to investigate the claims had to step aside after he also was tied to such parties.
Simon Case, the head of the civil service, stepped aside from from the investigation after the Guido Fawkes website reported Friday that his department held two parties in December 2020.
The scandal erupted when a video surfaced showing a mock news conference at which some of Johnson’s staff appeared to make light of a party that violated the pandemic rules. Until that time, the prime minister had steadfastly denied government officials had broken any lockdown rules.
The Times of London newspaper reported Saturday that one of the events held by Case’s department, the Cabinet Office, was listed in digital calendars as “Christmas party!” and was organized by a member of Case’s team.
The Cabinet Office said Friday that the event was a virtual quiz in which a small number of people who had been working together in the same office took part from their desks.
“The Cabinet Secretary played no part in the event but walked through the team’s office on the way to his own office,’’ the office said in a statement. “No outside guests or other staff were invited or present. This lasted for an hour and drinks and snacks were bought by those attending. He also spoke briefly to staff in the office before leaving.”
Netherlands 'going into lockdown again' to curb omicron
Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.
All non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands will be closed until Jan. 14 starting Sunday, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a hastily arranged press conference Saturday night. Schools and universities will shut until Jan. 9, he said.
In what is surely to prove a major disappointment, the lockdown terms also rein in private holiday celebrations. Residents only will be permitted two visitors except for Christmas and New Year's, when four will be allowed, according to Rutte.
“The Netherlands is going into lockdown again from tomorrow,” he said, adding that the move was “unavoidable because of the fifth wave caused by the omicron variant that is bearing down on us.”
It wasn't just the Dutch seeking to slow the spread of omicron. Alarmed ministers in France, Cyprus and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Paris canceled its New Year's Eve fireworks. Denmark has closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8 p.m. curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan underscored the official concern about the climbing cases and their potential to overwhelm the health care system by declaring a major incident Saturday, a move that allows local councils in Britain's capital to coordinate work more closely with emergency services.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin captured the sense of the continent in an address to the nation, saying the new restrictions were needed to protect lives and livelihoods from the resurgent virus.
READ: No Covid lockdown right now in Bangladesh: Health Minister
“None of this is easy,” Martin said Friday night. “We are all exhausted with COVID and the restrictions it requires. The twists and turns, the disappointments and the frustrations take a heavy toll on everyone. But it is the reality that we are dealing with.”
The World Health Organization reported Saturday that the omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 89 countries, and COVID-19 cases involving the variant are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days in places with community transmission and not just infections acquired abroad.
Major questions about omicron remain unanswered, including how effective existing COVID-19 vaccines are against it and whether the variant produces severe illness in many infected individuals, WHO noted.
Yet omicron’s “substantial growth advantage” over the delta variant means it is likely to soon overtake delta as the dominant form of the virus in countries where the new variant is spreading locally, the U.N. health agency said.
In the Netherlands, shoppers fearing the worst swarmed to commercial areas of Dutch cities earlier Saturday, thinking it might be their last chance to buy Christmas gifts.
Rotterdam municipality tweeted that it was “too busy in the center” of the port city and told people: “Don’t come to the city.” Amsterdam also warned that the city’s main shopping street was busy and urged people to stick to coronavirus rules.
“I can hear the whole of the Netherlands sighing,” Rutte said in his lockdown announcement. “All this, exactly one week before Christmas. Another Christmas that is completely different from what we want. Very bad news again for all those businesses and cultural institutions that rely on the holidays.”
The head of the Dutch public health institute, Jaap van Dissel, described the shutdown as a preventative move that would “buy time” for more people to get booster vaccines and for the nation's health care system to prepare for a possible new surge in infections.
In the U.K., where confirmed daily cases soared to record numbers this week, the government has reimposed a requirement for masks to be worn indoors and ordered people to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test when going to nightclubs and large events.
But the moves caused anger.
Critics of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest coronavirus restrictions flooded Oxford Street, a popular London shopping area, on Saturday. The maskless protesters blew whistles, yelled “Freedom!” and told passersby to remove their face coverings.
Hundreds of people blocked traffic as they marched with signs bearing slogans such as “Vaccine passports kill our freedoms” and “Don’t comply.” Other signs had the faces of Johnson or U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid and read, “Give them the boot.”
Scientists are warning the British government it needs to go further to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed. Leaked minutes from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies suggested a ban on indoor mixing and hospitality, the BBC reported.
Britain and other nations are also accelerating the pace of booster shots after early data showed that two doses of vaccine were less effective against the omicron variant. Shopping centers, cathedrals and soccer stadiums in Britain have been converted into mass vaccination centers.
Omicron is now the dominant coronavirus variant in London, and efforts were stepped up to reach people who haven’t yet been vaccinated or boosted.
The mayor said during a visit to a mass vaccination pop-up clinic at London soccer team Chelsea’s stadium that public services ranging from ambulances to police calls could be impeded by the rapidly spreading variant.
“The big issue we have is the number of Londoners who have this virus, and that’s leading to big issues in relation to staff absences and the ability of our public services to run at the optimum levels,″ Khan told the BBC.
In France, the government announced that it will start giving the vaccine to children in the 5 to 11 age group beginning Wednesday.
Prime Minister Jean Castex said Friday that with the omicron variant spreading like “lightning,” the government proposed requiring proof of vaccination from individuals entering restaurants, cafes and other public establishments. The action requires parliamentary approval.
READ: Armed man outside UN arrested after standoff, lockdown
Thousands of opponents of vaccine requirements and mask mandates protested Saturday in Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf and other German cities. In Austria, local media reported the crowds swelled to tens of thousands.
Hits 'keep coming': Hospitals struggle as COVID beds fill
Hospitals across the country are struggling to cope with burnout among doctors, nurses and other workers, already buffeted by a crush of patients from the ongoing surge of the COVID-19 delta variant and now bracing for the fallout of another highly transmissible mutation.
Ohio became the latest state to summon the National Guard to help overwhelmed medical facilities. Experts in Nebraska warned that its hospitals soon may need to ration care. Medical officials in Kansas and Missouri are delaying surgeries, turning away transfers and desperately trying to hire traveling nurses, as cases double and triple in an eerie reminder of last year's holiday season.
READ: Global Covid cases top 273 million
“There is no medical school class that can prepare you for this level of death," said Dr. Jacqueline Pflaum-Carlson, an emergency medicine specialist at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. “The hits just keep coming.”
The national seven-day average of COVID-19 hospital admissions was 60,000 by Wednesday, far off last winter's peak but 50% higher than in early November, the government reported. The situation is more acute in cold-weather regions, where people are increasingly gathering inside and new infections are piling up.
New York state reported Saturday that slightly more than 21,900 people had tested positive for COVID-19 the day before, a new high since tests became widely available. Consequences of the latest surge have been swift in New York City: The Rockettes Christmas show was scratched for the season; some Broadway shows canceled performances because of outbreaks among cast members; and “Saturday Night Live” announced it was taping without a live audience and with only limited cast and crew.
“We are in a situation where we are now facing a very important delta surge and we are looking over our shoulder at an oncoming omicron surge," Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said of the two COVID-19 variants.
READ: Pfizer tests extra COVID shot for kids under 5 in setback
At AdventHealth Shawnee Mission, a hospital near Kansas City, Missouri, chief medical officer Dr. Lisa Hays said the emergency department is experiencing backups sometimes lasting for days.
“The beds are not the issue. It’s the nurses to staff the beds. ... And it’s all created by rising COVID numbers and burnout," Hays said. “Our nurses are burnt out.”
Experts attribute most of the rise in cases and hospitalizations to infections among people who have not been inoculated against the coronavirus. The government says 61% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas, said the “pandemic of the unvaccinated” continues to swamp the hospital and its workers.
“There’s no place to go. Our staff are tired. We’re going to run out of travelers," Stites said, referring to visiting health care workers, “and omicron is at our doorstep. This is a tornado warning to our community.”
Ohio's National Guard deployment is one of the largest seen during the pandemic, with more than 1,000 members sent to beleaguered hospitals especially in the Akron, Canton and Cleveland areas.
As of Friday, 4,723 people in the state were hospitalized with the coronavirus, a number last seen about a year ago, Gov. Mike DeWine said. Some staffers were taking only short breaks before punching in for second shifts, he added.
Health systems elsewhere that are doing somewhat better are nervously eyeing the arrival of the omicron variant and girding themselves for the impact.
Nebraska officials said hospitals might have to put some care on hold to make room for COVID-19 patients. While case numbers are down from the state's pandemic peak, they could rebound rapidly, and bed availability remains tight because of patients with non-virus ailments.
“It may be likely that omicron will cause a giant surge, and honestly we can’t handle that right now,” said Dr. Angela Hewlett of Nebraska Medicine in Omaha.
At Los Angeles’ Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, just 17 coronavirus patients were being treated there Friday, a small fraction of the hospital’s worst stretch. Nurse manager Edgar Ramirez said his co-workers are weary but better prepared if a wave hits.
“The human factor of having that fear is always going to be there,” Ramirez said. “I tell our crew, ‘We have to talk through this. We have to express ourselves.’ Otherwise it’s going to tough.”
Twin sisters Linda Calderon and Natalie Balli, 71, had planned to get vaccinated but delayed it until it was too late. Now they're on oxygen in the same room at Providence Holy Cross, their beds separated by just a few feet.
“We kept saying, ‘we’ll do it tomorrow.’ But tomorrow never came,” Calderon said as she watched her sister struggle to breathe. “We really regret not getting the shots, because if we did, we wouldn’t be like this right now.”
Pflaum-Carlson, the doctor at Detroit's Henry Ford Health, made a public plea for people to get the shots both for their benefit and for those toiling on the frontlines of care. Eighty percent of the roughly 500 COVID-19 patients at the system's five hospitals were unvaccinated,
“Have a little grace and consideration in how devastating things are right now,” she said.
WHO: Omicron detected in 89 countries, cases doubling fast
The omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 89 countries, and COVID-19 cases involving the variant are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days in places with community transmission and not just infections acquired abroad, the World Health Organization said Saturday.
Omicron's "substantial growth advantage" over the delta variant means it is likely to soon overtake delta as the dominant form of the virus in countries where the new variant is spreading locally, the U.N. health agency said.
Read: Booster at least 80% effective against severe Omicron
India successfully testfires new generation, nuclear-capable Agni Prime missile
India on Saturday successfully testfired its new generation, nuclear-capable, surface-to-surface intercontinental ballistic missile Agni Prime, developed with the intent of being able to hit bordering cities in China.
The long-range Agni variant missile, developed by the state-owned Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), was launched from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
"Telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and downrange ships positioned along eastern coast tracked and monitored missile trajectory and parameters. Missile followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with high level of accuracy,” a government statement said.
Read: India successfully test-fires air-launched version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile
The missile, which uses a three-stage solid fuelled engine, is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 2,000 km.
The Agni group of missiles forms the bedrock of India's nuclear deterrent. Agni V, for instance, has a range of nearly 5,000 km and is capable of hitting Beijing.
India Defense Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO for the successful flight test and "expressed his happiness for the excellent performance of the system", according to the statement.
Pakistan to rally Muslim countries to help Afghanistan
Pakistan is rallying Muslim countries to help Afghanistan stave off an economic and humanitarian disaster while also cajoling the neighboring country's new Taliban rulers to soften their image abroad.
Several foreign ministers from the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation are meeting in Islamabad on Sunday to explore ways to aid Afghanistan while navigating the difficult political realities of its Taliban-run government, Pakistan's top diplomat said Friday.
The new Taliban administration in Kabul has been sanctioned by the international community, reeling from the collapse of the Afghan military and the Western-backed government in the face of the insurgents' takeover in mid-August.
The OIC meeting is an engagement that does not constitute an official recognition of the Taliban regime, said Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
READ: Pakistan army helicopter crashes in Kashmir; 2 pilots killed
He said the message to the gathering on Sunday is: “Please do not abandon Afghanistan. Please engage. We are speaking for the people of Afghanistan. We’re not speaking of a particular group. We are talking about the people of Afghanistan.”
Qureshi said major powers — including the United States, Russia, China and the European Union — will send their special representatives on Afghanistan to the one-day summit. Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will also attend the conference.
Afghanistan is facing a looming economic meltdown and humanitarian catastrophe in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover. Billions of dollars’ worth of the country's assets abroad, mostly in the U.S., have been frozen and international funding to the country has ceased.
The world is also waiting before extending any formal recognition to the new rulers in Kabul, wary the Taliban could impose a similarly harsh regime as when they were in power 20 years ago — despite their assurances to the contrary.
In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Muttaqi said that Afghanistan's new rulers were committed to the education of girls and women in the workforce.
Yet four months into Taliban rule, girls are not allowed to attend high school in most provinces and though women have returned to their jobs in much of the health care sector, many female civil servants have been barred from coming to work.
However, security has improved under the Taliban, with aid organizations able to travel to most parts of Afghanistan, including areas that for years were off-limits during the war, said a senior humanitarian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The World Health Organization and U.N. agencies have warned of the humanitarian crisis facing Afghanistan and its 38 million people. Hospitals are desperately short of medicines, up to 95% of all households face food shortages, the poverty level is soaring toward 90% and the afghani, the national currency, is in free fall.
Pakistan has been at the forefront in pressing for world engagement in Afghanistan. Qureshi said Friday he has warned in talks with many foreign ministers — including with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington — that a total collapse in Afghanistan will hurt efforts to fight terrorism and trigger a massive exodus from the country.
Refugees will become economic migrants, he added, meaning they would not want to stay in neighboring countries of Pakistan and Iran, but will try to reach Europe and North America.
Qureshi also warned that if Afghans are left without help, militant groups such as al-Qaida and the regional Islamic State affiliate will regroup and flourish amid the chaos.
The OIC has leverage because of its nature as an Islamic organization and Qureshi expressed hope the summit will also be an opportunity for the world's Muslim nations to press upon the Taliban the imperative of allowing girls to attend school at all levels and for women to return to their jobs in full.
Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson center, said OIC nations could do more, suggesting they work through their religious scholars and have them interact directly with the Taliban.
For now, it would be difficult for the West to engage with the Taliban, Kugelman said, adding that such an interaction would be tantamount to admitting defeat in the 20-year war.
For the Taliban, it would be the “final satisfaction of being able to engage ... from the standpoint of victor,” he said.
“The Taliban defeated the West ... their powerful militaries and caused them to suffer through a chaotic and humiliating final withdrawal," he said. “For the West to turn around and bury the hatchet with the Taliban, this would amount to a legitimization of its defeat."
Typhoon leaves 19 dead, many homes roofless in Philippines
A powerful typhoon left at least 19 people dead, knocked down power and communications in entire provinces and wrought widespread destruction mostly in the central Philippines, officials said Saturday. A governor said her island province has been “leveled to the ground."
Typhoon Rai blew away Friday night into the South China Sea after rampaging through southern and central island provinces, where more than 300,000 people in its path were evacuated to safety in advance in a pre-emptive move officials say may have saved a lot of lives.
At its strongest, Rai packed sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 270 kph (168 mph), one of the most powerful in recent years to hit the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago, which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. The typhoon slammed into the country’s southeastern coast Thursday but the extent of casualties and destruction remained unclear two days after with entire provinces still without power and cellphone connection.
READ: Powerful typhoon hits Philippines, nearly 100,000 evacuated
The national police reported at least 19 dead but did not provide other details. The government’s main disaster-response agency reported a lower death toll of 12, mostly villagers hit by falling trees, because it said it had to carefully validate each death.
Officials on Dinagat Islands, one of the first provinces to be lashed by the typhoon’s ferocious winds, remained cut off Saturday due to downed power and communication lines. But its governor, Arlene Bag-ao, managed to post a statement on the province’s website to say that the province of about 180,000 “has been leveled to the ground.” She pleaded for food, water, temporary shelters, fuel, hygiene kits and medical supplies. She said only a few casualties have been reported in the capital so far because other towns remain isolated.
“We may have survived, but we cannot do the same in the coming days because of our limited capacities as an island province,” Bag-ao said, adding some of Dinagat’s hospitals could not open due to damage. “Most of our commercial and cargo vessels ... are now unsuitable for sea voyages, effectively cutting us off from the rest of the country.”
Vice Gov. Nilo Demerey managed to reach a nearby province and told DZMM radio network that at least six residents died and that “almost 95% of houses in Dinagat have no roof,” and even emergency shelters were destroyed.
“We’re currently doing repairs because even our evacuation centers were destroyed. There are no shelters, the churches, gymnasium, schools, public markets and even the capitol were all shattered,” Demerey said.
Pictures posted on Dinagat’s website show low-slung houses with roofs either blown off or damaged and surrounded by tin roof sheets and debris.
In central Bohol province, which was directly hit by the typhoon, the coast guard said its personnel on board rubber boats rescued residents who were trapped on roofs and trees, as waters rose rapidly. It released footage showing coast guard staff helping people from the roof of a house nearly engulfed by brownish floodwater to a rubber boat. They also help a villager climb down from a tree above the floodwater while another man, also wearing an orange life vest, waits for his turn.
With government contingency funds used for the coronavirus pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would look for money to help the provinces. He planned to visit the devastated region this weekend.
About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year. The archipelago is located in the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire” region, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
Indonesia raises Semeru volcano alert, fearing new eruption
Indonesian authorities raised the alert level for the highest volcano on Java island, saying Mount Semeru could blow up again after a sudden eruption earlier this month left 48 people dead and 36 missing in villages that were buried in layers of mud.Indonesia’s geological agency said Saturday it picked up increasing activity that could trigger an avalanche of lava and searing gas, similar to the Dec. 4 eruption, which was preceded by heavy monsoon rains that partially collapsed a lava dome on the 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) mountain.
READ: Death toll rises to 13 in Indonesia volcano eruption
About 8 million cubic meters (282 million cubic feet) of sand from the volcano’s crater clogged the Besuk Kobokan River, which is in the path of the lava flow, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif said.“As a result, if there is another eruption, it would block the flow path and create new lava flows spreading to the surrounding area,” Tasrif said, adding that the government had set up a new danger map and urged people to obey it. It raised the alert level to the second-highest.The head of Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, Andiani, said villagers living on Semeru’s fertile slopes are advised to stay 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the crater’s mouth. She also stopped tourism and mining activities along the Besuk Kobokan watershed.The search and rescue operations ended on Friday with 36 people still unaccounted for. More than 100 people were injured, 22 of them with serious burns. More than 5,200 houses and buildings were damaged, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari.After visiting the area last week, President Joko Widodo pledged to rebuild infrastructure, including the main bridge connecting the worst-hit town of Lumajang to other cities, and move about 2,970 houses out of the danger zone.Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted many times in the last 200 years. Still, as on many of the 129 volcanoes monitored in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people live on its fertile slopes. It last erupted in January, with no casualties.Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.
Booster at least 80% effective against severe Omicron
UK researchers have analysed the likely impact that a Covid booster shot will have on Omicron and say it could provide around 85% protection against severe illness.
The protection is a bit less than vaccines gave against earlier versions of Covid, reports BBC.
But it means the top-up dose should still keep many people out of hospital.
It comes as a record 861,306 number of booster jabs and third doses were given in the UK on Thursday.
The modelling, from the team at Imperial College London, is based on limited information on Omicron.
The researchers say there is a high degree of uncertainty until more real-world information is gathered about this new variant that is spreading quickly.
Experts are still trying to figure out how mild or severe Omicron will turn out to be.
Vaccines help teach the body how to fight Covid. But the current ones in use were not designed to combat the heavily-mutated Omicron variant, meaning they are not a perfect match.
To get round that, people in the UK are being advised to have a booster dose to build up higher antibody levels to fight the virus.
Antibodies can stick onto the virus to stop it entering cells and replicating.
Studies have suggested a 20 to 40-fold reduction in the ability of these antibodies to take out the virus in double-vaccinated people.
READ: US faces a double coronavirus surge as omicron advances
The preliminary work from Imperial assumes there will be a drop in vaccine efficacy against Omicron.
Even with a booster, protection against severe disease from Omicron may be around 80 to 85.9%, compared to around 97% for Delta - the other variant that is currently dominant in the UK.
However, there are other parts of the immune system, such as T cells, that can fight Covid too. The modelling could not assess the impact of these.
One of the Imperial researchers Prof Azra Ghani said: "One remaining uncertainty is how severe the disease caused by the Omicron variant is compared to disease caused by previous variants.
"Whilst it may take several weeks to fully understand this, governments will need to put in place plans now to mitigate any potential impact.
"Our results demonstrate the importance of delivering booster doses as part of the wider public health response."
Dr Clive Dix, former chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, said: "There is a huge amount of uncertainty in these modelled estimates and we can only be confident about the impact of boosters against Omicron when we have another month of real-world data on hospitalisation, ICU [intensive care] numbers and deaths.
"It remains the case that we still need to get vaccines current and future to the whole world."
Cases of Omicron are rising - and there's more to come.
The UK has recorded 3,201 new cases of the Omicron variant, up from yesterday's figure of 1,691.
It takes the total number of confirmed Omicron cases in the UK to 14,909 - although the true figure is believed to be much higher because not all labs can detect the variant and not everyone will come forward for testing.
READ: Pfizer confirms COVID pill’s results, potency versus omicron
So how long will it go on for? The modellers aren't sure yet.
They're talking about peaks early in the new year - if you keep on doubling and doubling and doubling cases, there'll eventually be more people getting infected than there are people in the UK - so there is a limit on this.
The real question - which still hasn't been answered - then becomes: how ill does it make people and how much pressure is it going to put on the healthcare system?
Pfizer tests extra COVID shot for kids under 5 in setback
Pfizer said Friday it was changing plans and testing three doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in babies and preschoolers after the usual two shots didn’t appear strong enough for some of the children.
Pfizer announced the change after a preliminary analysis found 2- to 4-year-olds didn’t have as strong an immune response as expected to the very low-dose shots the company is testing in the youngest children.
It’s disappointing news for families anxious to vaccinate their tots. Pfizer had expected data on how well the vaccines were working in children under 5 by year’s end, and it’s not clear how long the change will delay a final answer.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said if the three-dose study is successful, they plan to apply for emergency authorization sometime in the first half of 2022.
Read: Pfizer says COVID booster offers protection against omicron
A kid-sized version of Pfizer’s vaccine already is available for 5- to 11-year-olds, one that’s a third of the dose given to everyone else 12 and older.
For children younger than 5, Pfizer is testing an even smaller dose, just 3 micrograms or a tenth of the adult dose.
Researchers analyzed a subset of youngsters in the study a month after their second dose to see if the tots developed levels of virus-fighting antibodies that were similar to teens and young adults who get the regular shots.
The very low-dose shots appeared to work in youngsters under age 2, who produced similar antibody levels. But the immune response in 2- to 4-year-olds was lower than the study required, Pfizer vaccine research chief Kathrin Jansen said Friday in a call with investors.
Read: Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill
Rather than trying a higher-dose shot for the preschoolers, Pfizer decided to expand the study to evaluate three of the very low-dose shots in all the study participants — from 6 months up to age 5. That third shot will come at least two months after the youngsters’ second dose.
No safety concerns have been spotted in the study, the companies said.
Jansen cited other data showing a booster shot for people 16 and older restores strong protection, a jump in immunity that scientists hope also will help fend off the new omicron variant.
The companies also are preparing to test a booster for 5- to 11-year-olds, who are just now getting their two-dose vaccinations. And they are testing different dose options for teen boosters.
Jansen said if the additional pediatric testing is successful, “we would have a consistent three-dose vaccine approach for all ages.”