The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the Omicron variant
of the coronavirus has now been detected in 89 countries.
Omicron — labelled a “variant of concern” — was detected by
South African authorities and subsequently reported to the WHO.
Following the discovery of the new variant, there have been
concerns about its possible higher transmissibility due to the increase in COVID
cases experienced in South Africa.
In a statement on Saturday, the WHO said there is consistent
evidence that Omicron has a substantial growth advantage over Delta.
It added that “given current available data, it is likely
that Omicron will outpace Delta where community transmission occurs”.
“As of 16 December 2021, the Omicron variant has been
identified in 89 countries across all six WHO regions. Current understanding of
the Omicron variant will continue to evolve as more data becomes available,”
the statement reads.
“It is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant
in countries with documented community transmission, with a doubling time
between 1.5–3 days. Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels
of population immunity and it remains uncertain to what extent the observed
rapid growth rate can be attributed to immune evasion, intrinsic increased
transmissibility or a combination of both.
“There are still
limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron. More data are needed to
understand the severity profile and how severity is impacted by vaccination and
pre-existing immunity. Hospitalizations in the UK and South Africa continue to
rise, and given rapidly increasing case counts, it is possible that many
healthcare systems may become quickly overwhelmed.
“Preliminary data suggest that there is a reduction in
neutralizing titres against Omicron in those who have received a primary
vaccination series or in those who have had prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, which
may suggest a level of humoral immune evasion.
“There are still limited available data, and no
peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for
Omicron.”
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