MICHAEL Gove is leading the push for Plan C Covid curbs including vaccine passports for pubs over Omicron fears.
But Boris Johnson and Downing Street are reportedly resisting fresh restrictions after Plan B rules to tackle the variant kicked in on Friday.
The Prime Minister faces a huge backbench rebellion over the Plan B measures, with 65 mutinous MPs indicating they’ll vote against them on Tuesday.
Mr Gove warned on Friday that the government had seen “very challenging information” about how quickly Omicron spreads.
And hinting at Plan C rules being imposed, the Housing Secretary said: “We need to keep everything under review.”
It comes as data shows boosters offer up to 75 per cent protection from mild infection from Omicron.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures showed immunity from two doses of AstraZeneca was close to zero after six months, but that a third dose with Pfizer saw protection from the super-strain rocket as high as 70 per cent.
And Mary Ramsay, jabs chief at the UKHSA, said: “We expect the vaccines to show higher protection against the serious complications of Covid-19.”
Trending In The News’s Jab’s Army has urged Brits to come forward and have their life-saving Covid shot, with volunteers also needed to drive the rollout.
A Commons vote on Tuesday will be held on the Plan B measures, which include working from home and face masks in non-hospitality venues like cinemas.
The move will also see NHS Covid passes which show if somebody has had two vaccine doses or a negative lateral flow test rolled out in venues like nightclubs from Wednesday.
Yesterday, another 633 Omicron cases were reported across the UK, the largest daily rise so far, bringing the total number to 1,898.
Experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) warned the variant could cause up to 75,000 deaths in England over the next five months.
If no new measures other than Plan B are brought in LSHTM scientists predict we could see 175,000 hospital admissions and 24,700 deaths between by April.
The LSHTM, which advises the government and sits on the Spi-M SAGE modelling subgroup, said extra measures like restricting indoor socialising in pubs and restaurants or social mixing may be needed.
But Prof Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia, has questioned the LSHTM modelling and thinks it overestimated hospital admissions.
He said: “If Omicron is indeed associated with less severe disease — as is, in my view, likely to be the case — then these models would overestimate hospital admissions and deaths, possibly substantially.”
Mr Johnson’s move to Plan B has sparked fury, with tens of backbenchers pledging to vote down plans for vaccine passports to be made mandatory for large venues.
