THERE are now 10 people in hospitals in England who have tested positive for the Omicron variant, Sajid Javid said today.
The health secretary made the announcement as he launched a “new national mission” to get a million boosters in arms every day.
He warned the new Covid variant is now spreading at a “phenomenal rate” and is now doubling every two to three days.
There have been around 3,000 confirmed cases of Omicron in England.
Mr Javid said it already accounts for 40% of new cases in London and will become the UK’s dominant strain shortly.
The health secretary said two jabs “don’t work” against the new strain but that “three do” as he urged Brits to get their boosters.
But he couldn’t say whether any of the patients with the new Covid strain are seriously ill.
He also didn’t specify whether catching Omicron was the cause of their hospitalisation.
Mr Javid did confirm there haven’t yet been any deaths as a result of of it.
And he said even if Omicron does turn out to be more mild it could still cause a spike in hospitalisations because it’s so infectious.
He said: “We’re facing a tidal wave of infection where once again, it’s a race between the vaccine and the virus.”
