Q Should we be worried about this new BA.2 mutation of the Omicron variant?

ANo, there’s nothing too alarming in the data. The rise in hospitalisations appears concerning – up from 10,000 to 14,000 in a fortnight.

At the height of the Omicron wave, hospitalisations reached 20,000, but it remains the case that very few people become seriously ill from the virus.

According to Government figures, there are fewer than 300 Covid patients in intensive care, the lowest number since July last year.

There are also still very few Covid deaths, with fewer than

100 being reported daily. Deaths haven’t been this low since

August last year.

So while the new variant is spreading like wildfire, our vaccines are still providing strong protection against severe illness.

Dr Rupert Beale, a virus expert at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said vaccines were ‘doing the vast bulk of the heavy lifting’.