Speaking a year on from the first time the AstraZeneca vaccine was administered to a member of the public, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard says: 'The worst is absolutely behind us. We just need to get through the winter.'
But Prof Pollard warned that giving boosters to people every six months was"not sustainable" and fourth jabs should not be offered until there is more evidence.
"At some point, society has to open up. When we do open, there will be a period with a bump in infections, which is why winter is probably not the best time. But that's a decision for the policy makers, not the scientists," he told the Telegraph. His comments come as chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor warned it is still too early to know Omicron's trend.
He added:"It is only five weeks since we first heard of this new variant, and it is only now starting to affect more older and more vulnerable people. Uncertainty abounds. For example, as far as I can tell, we have absolutely no idea whether Omicron is more or less likely than earlier variants to add to the huge numbers of people dealing with Long covid."'Absolute folly' to say pandemic is over- but said Omicron"is plainly milder" than other variants.
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