Dr Hilary Jones has warned people not to be complacent over rising Covid infections. The GP was speaking on Good Morning Britain on Monday.
He told Susanna Reid and Martin Lewis on the ITV morning show that while one in 20 people have the virus according to latest figures, the true figure is likely to be higher. He said he thinks we all know someone with Covid, Birmingham Live reports.
He said: "We all know somebody in our family or elsewhere. This is because Omicron is a milder infection. Omicron is the dominant variant and it is a milder form of the virus."
He added: "However, we are seeing large numbers - a small percentage of those large numbers - go into hospital. We cannot be complacent about this. This is why the new booster programme announced today is so important. This is for over 75s, and those in the clinically vulnerable groups. Their immunity will now be waning six months after the last booster.
"If we can give them a second booster we can get them up to an effectiveness in avoiding hospitalisation of around 90 per cent." His comments came after Susanna addressed the fact she knew "so many" people with Covid currently.
