At least one person in the UK has died with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Johnson said on Monday as he visited a vaccination clinic in west London, per Sky News: "Sadly yes Omicron is producing hospitalizations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.
"So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters."
Johnson did not give any details about the person, including whether or not they had been vaccinated.
The BBC also reported that Johnson confirmed the death.
Health bodies across the world have said that the Omicron variant appears to produce a milder disease — but experts also warn that this advantage is negated if the virus turns out to be more transmissible.
People who are not vaccinated are also more at disk of severe illness and death to those who are vaccinated.
Scientists are trying to figure out what impact the Omicron variant has: Whether it is more deadly, more infectious, or if it makes our vaccines and treatments less effective.
Experts are concerned over the high number of mutations that the variant has, which makes these scenarios more likely, and thus make the variant more deadly.