Omicron May Have Peaked in U.K.

New York, NY, January 13, 2022-The U.K. appears to have passed the peak of the latest wave of Covid-19 caused by Omicron, a promising sign that the highly transmissible variant’s impact may be brief, if intense, and fueling optimism that the pandemic may be waning, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Scientists say British data offer encouraging signs for countries behind the U.K. in the Omicron wave-such as the U.S.-that the variant is echoing the pattern it followed in South Africa, where cases rose rapidly over the course of just over a month, before falling back.

“The seven-day average of new daily cases of Covid-19 in the U.K. has been falling for a week and on Tuesday dropped below the 14-day average for the first time since November, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of official data. Both are signs that caseloads are diminishing.

“The rate of increase in the number of new Covid-19 hospitalizations has also slowed and in England-and especially London, which experienced the Omicron wave sooner than other regions-new hospital admissions with Covid-19 are falling. The first cases of Omicron were detected in the U.K. on Nov. 27.

“Scientists caution, however, that caseloads and hospital admissions may yet reverse course as social mixing increases with the end of the holiday season and the start of the new school term.

“Up to now, the British experience has further bolstered the conviction that Omicron is milder than previous versions of the virus-at least in places like the U.K., where vaccination rates among older and more vulnerable people are very high.”