Boris Johnson Confirms First Omicron-Related Death in the UK

Earlier on Sunday, Johnson had warned of a "tidal wave" of infection from the mutation.

At least one person infected with Omicron has died in United Kingdom. Image used for representation purpose.

(Image altered by The Quint)

At least one person infected with Omicron has died in United Kingdom, reported news agency AFP, citing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"Sadly, at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron," Boris Johnson was quoted by AFP as saying.

This comes as the country begins a booster dose programme against the variant.

Further, as per BBC, he said:

"So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population."

"So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters," Johnson added according to media reports.

Earlier on Sunday, 12 December, Johnson had warned of a "tidal wave" of infection from the mutation.

Two-Dose Vaccine Regimen May Not Be Enough to Contain Omicron: UK Study

Scientists from the United Kingdom on Monday, 13 December, published results of an Oxford University study indicating that two doses of COVID-19 vaccine regimens do not produce enough neutralising antibodies against the Omicron variant, news agency Reuters reported.

However, a decrease in the production of disease-fighting antibodies does not necessarily lead to severe illness, hospitalisation or death in those who have been administered two doses of the vaccine.

Matthew Snape, who co-authored the paper stated:

"These data are important but are only one part of the picture. They only look at neutralising antibodies after the second dose, but do not tell us about cellular immunity, and this will also be tested."

(With inputs from AFP, BBC and Reuters.)