MICHAEL Gove has hinted that Plan C restrictions are on the cards as he warned that the spread of Omicron was “deeply concerning.”
The gloomy minister warned Britain faces an onslaught of mutant Covid cases — as he opened the door to further restrictions under Plan C.
The Levelling up and Communities minister insisted: “We need to keep everything under review.”
He said: “We recognise the importance of balancing people’s abilities to get on with their lives, with the need to protect them against this virus. But action is absolutely required.
“As new data comes in we will consider what action we do require to take in the face of that data.”
Gove appeared to open the door to new Covid restrictions while admitting the UK faces a “deeply concerning situation” because of Omicron.
But data shows that Covid vaccines do protect you from Omicron – and getting your booster before the festive season will protect you and your loved ones.
His warning was echoed by Scotland’s fear-mongering First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who said a tsunami of the more infectious strain is coming.
Ministers are under pressure from MPs not to bring in more restrictions to tackle Omicron.
Tory MP Steve Baker said: “Rumour of a Plan C are a hideous abuse of the nation’s mental health, and will devastate the economy.”
Downing Street has admitted a Plan C already exists amid warnings that Plan B will not be enough.
However – a third jab can combat Omicron and save us from more lockdown pain, says a morale-boosting study.
Read our Omicron live blog for the latest updates
Any two doses plus a Pfizer booster give up to 75 per cent protection, experts say.
Three shots also defend better against severe disease or death — but two doses will soon fail to prevent even a third of cases.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This data shows how important boosters are.”
Trending In The News’s Jabs Army helped administer millions of jabs this year – and now we are calling Brits to get their boosters.
Mary Ramsay, jabs chief at the UKHSA, said: “These early estimates show that, a few months after the second jab, there is a greater risk of catching Omicron compared to Delta.
“But the data suggests this risk is significantly reduced following a booster vaccine.
“We expect the vaccines to show higher protection against the serious complications of Covid-19.”
GET YOUR BOOSTERS
Professor Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia, said: “It’s great news that the boosters take our protection back up to 70 to 80 per cent — now it’s vital that we get them rolled out.
“We know vaccines are better at protecting against severe disease than infection so I think we will see that that is high again.
“If you’ve had two doses and a natural infection you’re probably going to be quite well protected, too.
“The bad news is that Omicron is a lot more infectious than Delta but hopefully it will slow down. Ultimately it’s going to have to burn itself out.”
There are now a total of 1,265 confirmed cases of the variant, up by 448 since yesterday, but the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) say there are likely thousands more.
