Omicron has infected the UK at record rates over the past 3 weeks. There have been an increase in hospital admissions.

One in ten NHS staff are also off work, with many isolating, placing additional strain on the health service – though it is no worse than at this time last year.

Boris Johnson believes the country is able to weather the current storm without additional restrictions.

Is there any reason to be optimistic? 

Bedding numbers

Latest figures reveal that hospitals in England had less beds occupied during this winter than pre-Covid. In the week that ended December 26, there were an average of 89,000 general and acute beds open, with 77,901 occupied.

The NHS looked after more patients during the week ending December 26, 2019, however. NHS England data shows that there were 95,917 beds available and 86,078 people occupied in the week to December 26, 2019. This gives an occupancy rate of 89%.

The current data show that this is higher than the 87.4 percent, which suggests there may be more admissions.

Due to Norovirus epidemics, the number of beds that are no longer available has nearly halved. This makes it possible for more admissions and allows patients to be moved around.

Boris Johnson is confident the country can ride out the current wave without further restrictions

Boris Johnson feels confident that the country can weather the current wave of uncertainty without any further restrictions

Hospitals in England have had fewer beds occupied this winter than they did pre-Covid, latest figures show. An average of 89,097 general and acute beds were open each day in the week to December 26, of which 77,901 were occupied (stock photo)

Latest figures reveal that hospitals in England had less beds occupied during this winter than pre-Covid. On average, 89,097 beds, including acute, were opened each day during the week up to December 26. Of these, 77,901 beds were occupied. (stock photo

Are you suffering from the flu?

Despite bleak warnings of a ‘double peak’ of flu and Covid crippling the NHS, seasonal influenza has yet to take off – reducing normal winter pressures on hospitals.

Flu cases currently fall to 95% below the levels in 2019-20, which was the winter prior to the pandemic.

During the last bad flu season, in 2017-2018 there were 22,000 flu deaths in England and Wales – but latest ONS data shows that over the past month there have been just 1,640 deaths due to flu.

Spare intensive care capacity

Now, the NHS has more intensive care capacity than before the pandemic. It could also open additional beds if needed.

Only half of all Covid patients are in England’s critical-care units. There were an average of 4,079 adult critical care beds open each day in the week to December 26, but only 75 per cent of them – 3,058 – were occupied.

This compares to the occupancy rate at 79.6 percent in week ending December 26, 2019. There were an average 3,647 adult-critical care beds available and 2,903 people occupied.

On January 24 last year there were 3,736 Covid patients in intensive care in England – the highest of the pandemic – with 6,270 critical beds open for any illness.

Although covid infection rates in England are at an all-time high, the proportion of intensive care patients has not increased since Omicron was established in the UK.

Only five per cent are now on mechanical ventilators at hospitals with Covid, down from 11 percent during the peak pandemic. There are 15,659 Covid patients currently receiving treatment in England’s hospitals.

But only 769 are on ventilators – fewer than two months ago when cases were significantly lower. The peak number of Covid patients was 34,336 at the hospitals in England, with 3,736 being in intensive care.

Comparatively to the April numbers, the percentage of Covid patients admitted to hospital and then placed in ICU has fallen. 

Fewer A&E admissions

Fewer people are attending A&E and being admitted to hospital as an emergency with any illness than before the pandemic.

There were 2,040,323 A&E attendances in England in November, down from 2,143,505 in the same month in 2019.

In an effort to reduce the number of emergency admissions to hospitals, this has been achieved by dropping from 559 556 to 506,238.

However, patients are being made to wait longer in A&E, with just 74 per cent admitted, transferred and discharged within four hours in November 2021.

This is despite the fact that doctors are now required to treat coronavirus patients, which indicates a decreased demand for other conditions.

However, the number of hospital patients who have to wait over 12 hours to get a bed in a hospital has risen from 1,111 to 10,646.

Omicron has good news 

Numerous studies have shown Omicron to be less deadly than other variants. This raises hopes that we may finally learn how to live with it.

South Africa lifted its nighttime curfew after the Omicron waves ended without any major hospitals.

Study of hospital admissions showed that cases where the disease was first discovered may prove to be 10 times more deadly than previously thought.

The UK Health Security Agency said data shows people are half as likely to have to attend A&E or be admitted to hospital with Omicron as they are with Delta. And they say the risk of hospital admission alone for Omicron – which now accounts for nine in ten infections – is around a third of that for Delta.

The key to success is the booster drive

UK gave a boost to more people than any other EU country. According to data from the UK Health Security Agency, those who have been vaccinated are 8 times more likely not to be admitted to hospital than people who do not.

A third dose of vaccine has been administered to 34.5 million people in Britain. This helps reduce the risk of overcrowding the NHS with Covid patients.

After 20 weeks of AstraZeneca, people no longer have protection from symptomatic infections.

Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccine efficacy also declines in the same time frame, to only 10%.

However, the vaccine can protect against hospital admissions at 88% after receiving a booster shot. This highlights how important it is.

Patients in intensive care at Covid may not have had their boosters and more than 60% have never had any vaccinations.