Expert shares 3 'common sense' tips to reduce your risk of the new Omicron BA.5 variant
msn.comCovid variant, now dominant in the UK, is said to be three times more likely to put sufferers in hospital. The report from Portugal suggested that even people who were vaccinated and boostered had a 23 percent risk of hospitalisation.
Denis Kinane, a leading immunologist and founding scientist at Cignpost Diagnostics, offered some words of wisdom about living with the new variant.
He has three main tips to protect yourself and the vulnerable. He said: "BA. 5, like other variants, is still a severe threat to vulnerable groups, so we need to take reasonable precautions - such as using face masks in enclosed spaces such as mass events and getting tested if you think you may be infected. "Using precautions in hospitals, crowded places and when around vulnerable people are also common-sense. "It is also worth remembering that having a vaccination or a booster does not prevent you from getting COVID, but it does protect most people from hospitalisation. "READ MORE: Covid: 7 out of 10 'double or triple jabbed' Britons experiencing same Omicron symptomThe Portuguese study, published in Medrixiv, looked at the health records and laboratory data of over 27,000 Covid cases to spot the growth of the BA.
5 variant. "While this is only a single study, it is a stark reminder that COVID is not over," Kinane added. In the UK, the universal testing program has stopped - despite roughly one in 20 having Covid.
Read more on msn.com
