Even if the announcement of a version of “plan B” was a diversionary tactic by the government, under pressure from Downing Street’s “partygate” scandal, it is welcome and, indeed, overdue. As soon as the new and threatening omicron variant emerged, minsters should, on the precautionary principle, have immediately implemented measures that would limit social interaction and the spread of the virus.
It seems now that omicron may in fact be more transmissible but inflict fewer cases of severe illness, but that was not known when the news came from South Africa that a significantly mutated coronavirus might soon be circulating with the ability to evade the vaccines. Even now, alongside other more encouraging developments, it does regrettably seem to be particularly resistant to the Pfizer vaccine. All the more reason to spur on the booster vaccine programme.
The usual, now familiar measures, will help relieve pressure on the NHS and save lives. Even without omicron and a stabilisation of the effects of the delta variant, the backlog of cases and usual winter pressures on the NHS were causing severe strain in certain services, most notably in ambulance response times. Therefore restraining delta and omicron was essential simply to allow the NHS to attend to its other urgent work.
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