World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the Omicron variant is spreading faster than any previous strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
According to Tedros, 77 countries have reported cases of the Omicron variant, and it is likely present in most countries around the world.
Omicron spreads faster than any previous variant.
“Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. Even if Omicron causes less severe illness, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm health systems,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“There is increasing evidence of a slight reduction in the effectiveness of vaccines against severe disease and death,” he added.
Mr. Tedros believes that booster vaccine doses could play a role in limiting the spread of Covid-19. He noted that the emergence of Omicron has prompted countries to roll out booster vaccination programs for the entire adult population. This has led to vaccine stockpiling in some countries, resulting in a global vaccine shortage.
A study published on December 14 showed that the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech was less effective in South Africa at preventing hospitalizations due to the Omicron variant.
Mike Ryan, WHO’s Director of Health Emergencies, stated that the vaccines are not failing and provide significant protection against severe disease and death.
“The question is how well the current vaccines we are using can protect us and to what extent we lose protection against severe disease and death from Omicron. Data shows that vaccines provide significant protection“, said Mike Ryan.
According to Mike Ryan, the peak of the current wave of infections is still “a few weeks away” due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, which has surpassed the globally dominant Delta variant.
