Certain characteristics of the Omicron variant, such as its global spread and a large number of mutations, suggest it could have a significant impact on the course of the Covid-19 jobs pandemic, according to the World Health Organization's chief (WHO).
With the Omicron variant now present in 57 countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned at a press conference that it could spread faster than previous variants, according to Xinhua.
"We are now starting to see a consistent picture of the rapid increase in transmission (rates), although for now the exact rate of increase relative to other variants remains difficult to quantify," he said.
"Emerging data from South Africa suggest increased risk of re-infection with Omicron, but more data are needed to draw firmer conclusions," he added.
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While some evidence suggests that Omicron causes fewer symptoms than the earlier Delta variant, WHO jobs experts say it's too early to draw any firm conclusions.
According to Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, while the virus's evolutionary nature makes it more transmissible as it mutates, this does not necessarily make the virus less severe, as some "urban legends" claim.
According to him, whether a mutation is milder or more lethal is a matter of chance. As research into the latest COVID-19 variant continues, the WHO says it will take days or even weeks for global epidemiological data to arrive, be analyzed, and have firm conclusions to be drawn.
According to WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan, it is also too early to say that Omicron could result in a significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness. The WHO has urged all countries to step up surveillance, testing, and sequencing, as well as to submit more data to the WHO Clinical Data Platform via an updated online case reporting form.
