Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, current director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), announced this Wednesday, December 8, that everything seems to indicate that Omicron, the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is more contagious that Delta variant.
However, he made it clear that despite the possibility of a higher rate of reinfection, this new variant causes less severe symptoms in the sufferer. Even so, the official assured that it is still too early to reach exact conclusions.
The WHO chief said on Wednesday that the new variant has a higher rate of reinfection. BioNTech and Pfizer’s first tests of the efficacy of their vaccine against the new variant have been successful. The new variant could make the virus more transmissible and less susceptible to existing vaccines.
“Preliminary data from South Africa suggest an increased risk of reinfection with omicron, but more data is needed to draw stronger conclusions. There is also evidence to suggest that omicron causes less severe symptoms than delta,” he stated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a recent press conference in Geneva.
BioNTech and Pfizer’s first tests of the efficacy of their vaccine against the new variant have been successful. The new variant could make the virus more transmissible and less susceptible to existing vaccines.
On the other hand, the WHO requested that governments accelerate vaccination programs to deal with this new variant, as experts assure that anti-covid vaccines continue to be effective: “Accelerate vaccination coverage in populations at highest risk in all countries, intensify efforts to reduce transmission and keep it low.”
Likewise, the official assured that strengthening health measures will prevent a new global crisis and it will reduce the appearance of other variants in the future. “This virus is changing, but our collective determination must not … Any complacency now will cost lives,” he said. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
How severe is the Omicron variant?
The new variant could make the virus more transmissible and less susceptible to existing vaccines.
Just as you mentioned AmericanPost.News Previously, the Omicron variant has been rampant around the world, which is of concern to the medical sector, governments and the general public. This new variant has mutations that help it evade the immune system response and to increase its ability to spread from one person to another.
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