Data reveals Omicron cases prevalent among vaccinated people

A report by the Danish government has revealed that virtually all Omicron cases in Denmark have been reported in vaccinated people, most of them “fully vaccinated.”

It stated that 79 percent of Danes infected with Omicron by December 15 were fully jabbed.

The double-vaccinations accounted for more than 14,000 of 17,767 Omicron infections recorded in Denmark since the country’s first reported case on November 22.

Those with a booster shot made up another 10.6 percent of cases of the new variant, and people with one jab were an additional 1.8 percent. The unvaccinated – around one-fifth of the Danish population – were just 8.5 percent of Omicron infections.

Vaccinated people also dominated cases of other COVID-19 strains. More than three-quarters of Danes who came down with Delta or another variant besides Omicron between November 22 and December 15 had at least one shot, according to the SSI data, and 73 percent were fully jabbed or boosted.

READ ALSO: Nearly $100bn COVID relief funds stolen, says Secret Service

In Denmark, 77.6 percent of the population was “fully vaccinated” as of Sunday, including 35 percent of residents who have had a third dose since the Scandinavian country began rolling out boosters for the general public last month.

Denmark currently has one of the top infection rates in the world and the second highest Omicron rate in Europe, behind the U.K., which has similar vaccination levels and an even higher booster rate.

Since arriving in Denmark in late November, Omicron has spread rapidly through the vaccinated, with infections doubling every few days.

The result has been an unprecedented case surge, far outpacing last winter – before the vaccination drive began – when daily cases peaked at around 5,000. Denmark blew past that record this month, reporting 13,000 new infections on Tuesday, with a seven-day average of nearly 10,000.

Daily infections are expected to reach 27,000 within days and continue climbing into January. Health minister Magnus Heunicke confirmed Tuesday that Omicron is now Denmark’s dominant strain.

Advertisement

Danish government researchers have acknowledged that vaccination offers effectively no protection against catching Omicron, and some analyses indicate that it actually heightens the risk of contracting the variant. Experts have also warned that a sharp rise in breakthrough cases could point to “original antigenic sin,” which occurs when vaccination causes an inability to mount an effective immune reaction to a variant of a virus, resulting in worse health outcomes for the vaccinated.

READ ALSO: Sammy Gyamfi, others sue Ghanaian government over mandatory COVID-19 vaccination

Only 0.6 percent of Danes infected with Omicron have been hospitalized since November 22, compared with 1.6 percent for other variants during the same timeframe, according to the SSI.

Danish researchers have argued that the unprecedented case spike among the vaccinated could still lead to significant hospitalization and death, regardless of Omicron’s severity. SSI models predict Denmark seeing up to 800 hospitalizations each day by early January.

Denmark’s breakthrough infection surge reflects reports of vaccine failure in other highly-vaccinated nations such as Sweden and the U.K., where most COVID deaths in September were in the fully jabbed, and in the northeastern United States.