London omicron cases ‘increasing rapidly’ as scientists warn ‘it’s far more likely to be Covid than a cold’.

By Gareth Davies, 15th December 2021. Find Article Here:-

A third of Londoners are completely unvaccinated, it emerges, and in Westminster four in ten people have not had a single jab.

People queue up at St Thomas’s hospital for Covid-19 booster jabs in Westminster CREDIT: Andy Rain/Shutterstock.

London omicron cases are “increasing rapidly” in the capital where a third of people remain unvaccinated as scientists warn “it’s far more likely to be Covid than a cold”. 

The Government ramped up the booster campaign on Monday in an attempt to combat the new variant surge with the number of cases doubling every two or three days. 

But Professor Tim Spector, who helped found the Covid Zoe app, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that omicron is already the dominant strain in London.

It comes as it emerged a third of Londoners are completely unvaccinated, according to The Times, and the proportion of the population without a single jab is three times as high in the capital than the rest of the UK. 

He said: “We’re seeing doubling in the numbers equivalent to what’s been seen elsewhere – about two and a half days. And so that really means that numbers are going up. 

“If we look at our regional charts, we see London really accelerating more than we’ve really seen it any time since the very first wave. 

“And this now means that Omicron is the predominant variant already – an that will be at 100% very soon. 

“So that’s, you know, that’s happened just in a matter of days. And that’s why so many people are going down with infections.”

The symptoms of the omicron variant have been reported to Zoe, and the indications are that unlike in the first wave, the indicative signs of infections are more similar to the common cold. 

Prof Spector said: “The majority of symptoms are just like a common cold, so we’re talking about headaches, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, and things like sneezing.

“So, things like fever and cough and loss of smell are now actually in the minority of the symptoms that we’re seeing.”

When the omicron mutation was first recorded in the UK, there were warnings that one in four common colds could be Covid. 

Now, in places like London where the new strain is dominant, “it’s far more likely to be Covid than a cold”, Prof Spector warned. 

He said: “Currently, across the country. It’s about one in four [common colds being Covid]. 

“Both conditions are actually quite common at the moment, but it’s about one in four but obviously, as you said, in London, where Covid is increasing rapidly, it’s far more likely to be Covid than it is to be cold.”

The 14 areas with the country’s lowest vaccination rates are all London boroughs, according to The Times, and in Westminster four in ten people have not had a single jab.