People catching Omicron are 50% to 70% less likely to need hospital care compared with previous variants, a major analysis says.

The UK Health Security Agency says its early findings are “encouraging” but the variant could still lead to large numbers of people in hospital.

The health secretary said it was “too early” to determine “next steps”.

The study also shows the jab’s ability to stop people catching Omicron starts to wane 10 weeks after a booster dose.

Protection against severe disease is likely to be far more robust.