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Booster jabs do not increase the level of protection against the Omicron variant as much as the previously dominant Delta strain, says an expert on Covid.

Dr Emma Hodcroft, an epidemiologist at the University of Bern who grew up in north-east England, told 91�ȱ� Radio Newcastle that protection is “maybe more around 70%” against Omicron, compared to 90% against Delta".

She said: “This is particularly important if you’re someone who is vulnerable or elderly, because it is good to know you may not have complete protection.”

Early data from South Africa suggests Omicron “isn’t quite as bad as previous variants”, says Dr Hodcroft, but there are important caveats which mean the UK “needs to be really cautious”:

1. South Africa’s population is much younger than the UK’s so the outcomes don’t tend to be so bad
2. A lot of South Africans have been infected and recovered from Covid or been vaccinated, so are less likely to get bad symptoms
3. Many infected with Omicron have not had it for very long, and it can take weeks before you end up with symptoms bad enough to go to hospital

The NHS could be forced to make difficult decisions on prioritising care ahead of a "long winter" to stop the spread of the Omicron variant, a Teesside GP says.

Dr David Hodges (pictured below), who works in Stockton-on-Tees, says meeting the prime minister's target of Covid-19 booster jabs for all adults before January is ambitious.

He said: "It's achievable but only if other services are paused or if we can release staff from somewhere else, but the NHS doesn't have staff sat around doing very little - our local services are running at 100mph to get as many vaccines done as possible.

Boris Johnson announced this weekend booster jabs would be offered to everyone over 18 in England from this week, after declaring an "Omicron emergency".

Dr Hodges said: "Unless Covid changes I can see booster vaccines becoming regular to keep our immunity primed."

Operators of the Tyne and Wear Metro and Shields Ferry are following the example of Transport for London.

Bringing you the latest news from across the North East from Monday 13 December to Friday 17 December 2021

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