Omicron may cause up to 75,000 deaths by April end in UK

UK scientists have warned that the number of deaths from the Omicron variant by the end of April could range from 25,000 to 75,000 depending on how well vaccines perform in the country.

But the experts behind the study said there was still uncertainty around the modelling, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The study is by an influential group of disease modellers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) who also advise the government -- but it is not a crystal ball.

As per the report, it does not say what will happen with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 but gives a range of possible outcomes.

The research is based on the assumption Omicron is less severe if one has been vaccinated, and also takes into account the current Plan B measures.

High uptake of the booster dose is likely to mitigate the impact of the Omicron wave, the researchers said.

It came as the UK announced a further 54,073 new cases on Saturday, including 633 of Omicron -- although the real number of Omicron cases is estimated to be much higher.

Nick Davies, one of the researchers, said Omicron was spreading "very fast," was "quite concerning" and was likely to be the dominant form of the virus in the UK by the end of the year.

The report said the number of people infected is currently doubling every 2.4 days in the UK.