London, Thanassis Gavos
The British government’s scientific advisers have recommended more diagnostic tests for travelers to the UK to detect more cases of the Omicron variant, according to minutes from a meeting of the SAGE advisory committee last Monday cited by the BBC.
As mentioned, the obligation for travelers to undergo a diagnostic test before their flight to the UK would be “valuable”.
The scientists also estimated that one molecular diagnostic test on the second day after the arrival announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for visitors from abroad “will detect significantly fewer cases” compared to the proposed regime of two molecular tests. The scientific advisers estimated that the second test should be done on the fifth or eighth day after arrival.
According to the same records, it is considered “extremely possible” that the Omicron variant could “somewhat” counteract the immunity offered by the vaccines or a previous coronavirus infection, noting that it is still too early to draw clear conclusions.
Although SAGE members believe that booster doses of the vaccine offer protection for the time being, they note that the future for the variant is “extremely uncertain”. They even added that “very strict response measures” could be needed to prevent saturation of the NHS national health system.
According to notes from a meeting of the NERVTAG advisory subcommittee last Thursday, ministers were called in to prepare for “a potentially very significant wave of infections”, bigger than previous outbreaks of COVID-19
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