Omicron variant: Four symptoms showing up in ‘double or triple vaccinated’ – professor

UK Coronavirus latest numbers as cases rocket

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to get their booster shots ahead of Christmas at the weekend. His message was stark: the Omicron variant is coming in a “tiny wave” and getting a third shot could save the NHS. It is worth noting that you can still catch Omicron if you are triple jabbed, although the severity of the disease is significantly reduced, evidence suggests.

First-hand reports to the ZOE Covid app, which logs submissions from millions of users across the UK, hints at the variant’s ability to evade vaccine-induced antibodies.

Speaking in his latest video, Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, who heads up the ZOE Covid study app, explained the symptoms being reported in those double or triple jabbed.

“A regular ZOE user entertained a 60th birthday party gathering with 18 guests,” he began.

“All of them had taken lateral flow tests prior to the gathering. On Sunday they were informed that one of the guests – who happened to be a teacher – had tested positive and the following week 16 out of 18 had fallen ill in some way.”

Prof Spector continued: “They were subsequently informed by NHS test and trace that it was Omicron or probable Omicron and they were waiting to get the genetic sequencing confirmations.”

What symptoms did they experience?

According to the professor, the symptoms they reported were pretty mild.

“Quite a few of them had nausea, slight temperature, sore throats and headaches,” he said.

Although nobody was bad enough to need a doctor or go to hospital, all had been “double and triple vaccinated”, added Prof Spector.

The fact that none of the cases required medical assistance indicates that the vaccines “clearly” reduced the severity of the illness, he noted.

Research elsewhere makes a strong case for getting three shots of a Covid vaccine.

Two doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNtech vaccines offer little protection against the Omicron variant of Covid, but a booster raises their effectiveness to between 70 and 75 percent.

That’s the conclusion of a data analysis by the UK Health Security Agency.

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