The symptoms of Omicron are beginning to be better understood in the weeks since the variant was first identified.
Vaccines appear not to be as strong against Omicron than they are with Delta.
As Omicron can even reinfect people who have already had coronavirus, the symptoms of the new variant in people double or triple jabbed are of particular concern.
Professor Tim Spector, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, recently spoke the issue, reports the Express.
Prof Spector heads the ZOE Covid app, a coronavirus research partnership between King’s College London and the health science company ZOE, which logs submissions from millions of users in the UK.
"A regular ZOE user entertained a 60th birthday party gathering with 18 guests," he told Good Morning Britain.
"All of them had taken lateral flow tests prior to the gathering.
"On Sunday, they were informed that one of the guests - who happened to be a teacher - had tested positive and the following week 16 out of 18 had fallen ill in some way.
"They were subsequently informed by NHS test and trace that it was Omicron or probable Omicron and they were waiting to get the genetic sequencing confirmations."
According to the professor, the symptoms they reported were pretty mild.
"Quite a few of them had nausea, slight temperature, sore throats and headaches," he said.
Although nobody was bad enough to need a doctor or go to hospital, all had been "double and triple vaccinated", added Prof Spector.
The fact that none of the cases required medical assistance indicates that the vaccines "clearly" reduced the severity of the illness, he noted.
It now appears the current wave will result in a far higher peak amid warnings that Omicron cases could reach as high as one million a day.
Yesterday Scots were asked to minimise social mixing before and after Christmas to slow down the spread of Omicron.
Nicole Sturgeon announced that Scotland has scrapped the 15 minute wait for patients after they've had their Pfizer or Moderna jab to speed up the booster programme.
They have done away with the quarter-of-an-hour sit-down so more doses can be administered.
Over-18s can book boosters from today, following the programme's expansion to 30 to 39 year-olds on Monday.
The isolation rules have also changed with close contacts of a positive case required to self-isolate for 10 days regardless of vaccination status or negative tests.
Supply of lateral flow tests continues to be an issue as the free tests are still out of stock on the UK Government website.
Meanwhile, a decision on whether to vaccinate children as young as five could come in the coming days, the head of the UK's vaccine advisory group has said.
