New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now spread to over 60 countries, poses a “very high” global risk as it has evaded vaccine protection in some cases, but clinical data on its severity are limited.
In a technical brief, the global health watchdog said considerable uncertainties surround Omicron, which was first detected in November in South Africa and Hong Kong. Its mutations may lead to higher transmissibility and more cases of infections.
“The overall risk related to Omicron, the new Variant of Concern (VoC) remains very high for a number of reasons,” it said, reiterating its first assessment of November 29.
“And second, preliminary evidence suggests potential humoral immune escape against infection and high transmission rates, which could lead to further surges with severe consequences,” the agency said, referring to the virus’ potential ability to evade immunity provided by antibodies.
The WHO cited preliminary evidence that the number of Omicron re-infected people has increased in South Africa.
While preliminary findings from South Africa suggest the new VoC may be less severe than the Delta variant, which currently dominates globally, and all cases reported in Europe have been mild or asymptomatic, it still remains unclear to what extent Omicron may be inherently less virulent, it said.
“More data are needed to understand the severity profile,” it said. “Even if the severity is potentially lower than for the Delta variant, it is expected that hospitalizations ease as a result of increasing transmission. More hospitalizations can put a burden on health systems and lead to more deaths.”
The health agency said it expected more information in the coming weeks when the time lag between infections and outcomes would become clear.
(VP)