90% of Covid patients in ICU 'unboosted': UK PM Boris Johnson

Up to 90 per cent of people in intensive care due to Covid infection are those who have not taken their third Covid jabs, said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, while urging people to get their booster doses.

The PM, on a visit to a vaccine centre, said that people should enjoy their new year celebrations but also take extra precautions such as ventilation and testing, and he urged people to take up the offer of a third dose, the Guardian reported.

"I'm sorry to say this but the overwhelming majority of people who are currently ending up in intensive care in our hospitals are people who are not boosted," Johnson was quoted as saying.

"I've talked to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90 per cent of people in intensive care.

"If you're not vaccinated, you're eight times more likely to get into the hospital altogether. So it's a great thing to do. It's very, very important. Get boosted for yourself, and enjoy the new year sensibly and cautiously," he said.

The NHS has called on people to have a "jabby new year", highlighting research from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) that found that at the start of last month about three out of five patients in London's intensive care units (ICU) had not received a jab, a figure that it said was rising, the report said.

The UK reported a record high of 129,471 Covid cases and on Tuesday. The UK Health Agency data showed that 18 new deaths took place within 28 days of positive test - well below the recent trend of 100 per day mark.

Johnson said Omicron continued to "cause real problems" even though it was "obviously milder than the Delta variant".

Almost 90 per cent of the population aged 12 and over have received a first dose of a Covid vaccine but only 56.9 per cent have had a booster. The government texted everyone urging them to "get boosted now" and highlighted available vaccine slots over the festive period.

--IANS

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