WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks throughout a information convention after a ceremony for the opening of the WHO Academy, in Lyon, France, September 27, 2021.
Denis Balibouse | Reuters
The World Health Organization on Tuesday warned the brand new omicron Covid-19 variant is spreading sooner than any earlier pressure, and it’s in all probability current in each nation of the world.
“Omicron is spreading at a charge we now have not seen with any earlier variant,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned throughout a Covid replace in Geneva. “Seventy-seven international locations have now reported circumstances of omicron. And the fact is that omicron might be in most international locations, even when it hasn’t been detected but.”
Tedros mentioned the WHO is anxious that international locations are dismissing omicron as a light variant. Though omicron is extra contagious, it isn’t but clear whether or not the variant causes extra gentle or extreme illness than previous strains of the virus.
“We have realized by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril,” Tedros mentioned. “Even if omicron does trigger much less extreme illness, the sheer variety of circumstances may as soon as once more overwhelm unprepared well being techniques,” he mentioned.
Tedros warned that vaccines alone won’t shield the nations of the world from omicron, emphasizing the significance of masks and social distancing.
“It’s not vaccines as an alternative of masks. It’s not vaccines as an alternative of distancing. It’s not vaccines as an alternative of air flow or hand hygiene. Do all of it. Do it constantly. Do it properly,” Tedros mentioned.
The variant considerably reduces the safety in opposition to an infection offered Pfizer and BioNTech’s two-dose vaccine, in keeping with preliminary lab information launched by the businesses final week. Scientists on the University of Oxford printed a examine on Monday that additionally discovered the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are much less efficient in opposition to omicron.
However, the vaccines possible nonetheless shield in opposition to extreme illness. Pfizer and BioNTech discovered {that a} booster shot gives vital ranges of safety in opposition to omicron.
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