New Delhi: The World Health Organization on Sunday said, “A new variant of Covid-19 ‘omicron’ is spreading faster than Delta and another variant. It reduces vaccine efficacy but causes less severe symptoms,” the delta variant which was first detected in India.
Early evidence suggests Omicron causes “a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission”, the WHO said in a technical brief.
South Africa’s discovery of Omicron — which has a large number of mutations — last month prompted countries around the world to impose travel bans on southern African countries and reintroduce domestic restrictions to slow its spread.
According to the WHO, Omicron had spread to 63 countries as of December 9. The faster transmission was noted in South Africa, where Delta is less prevalent, and in Britain, where Delta is the dominant strain.
The global health agency, in its technical brief, added that Omicron seems to have a “growth advantage” over Delta, based on the limited evidence available presently. The Delta variant was first identified in India earlier this year and accounts for over 99% of Covid-19 cases globally.
Omicron infections have so far caused “mild” illness or asymptomatic cases, but the WHO said the data was insufficient to establish the variant’s clinical severity.
South Africa reported Omicron to the WHO on November 24. Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer/BioNTech last week said three doses of their jabs were still effective against Omicron.
(_Vinayak)