NEW DELHI, Jan 24: Even as the world has started breathing easy and many countries planning to withdraw travel restrictions with less severe Omicron variant slowly replacing Delta, the World Health Organisation has cautioned that Omicron might not be the last variant and there could be more in the future.
As the Omicron cases surging across the world, Maria van Kerkhove, the technical head of Covid-19 at the WHO, which was cautioning people to get vaccinated and continue the use of masks, said on Monday that Omicron would not be the last variant of the coronavirus and there could be more in the future.
“This virus is still evolving and changing and we need to change and adjust accordingly. We not only have to increase the vaccination coverage around the world, but also try and transition out. It will not end with the latest wave and Omicron will not be the last variant we speak about, unfortunately,” Kerkhove said.
She added that out of 10 billion dosages of vaccines administered throughout the world since the rollout of the vaccine, there were still three billion people who are yet to get the first dose. So, we still have a highly susceptible population and even if some countries are further along, we have to treat this global problem with global solutions.”
Speaking on the growing speculation around Omicron being the last mutation and that its symptoms are milder, Maria van Kerkhove said there is this narrative that Omicron is mild, it is not Mild. She added that it is less severe than Delta, but it is still putting people in hospitals, especially those who are not vaccinated and have comorbidities.
“There is a suggestion that future variants will be less severe and that’s not a certainty. We expect more variants to emerge which could be fitter and more evolved than Omicron to survive. There is no guarantee that they will be less severe and they may have evolved properties that may render our countermeasures ineffective,” she added. “This virus is spreading really intensely, the challenge ahead is to get the balance right with measures required to reduce the spread. We are asking people to be very cautious,” she said.
Speaking on the endgame of the virus she said the pandemic will end and we will not always be in this cycle. However, she did not comment on how long will take if it will be over in months, or will it take years.
(Manas Dasgupta)