It is as a result of “Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant in countries with documented community transmission, with a doubling time between 1.5-3 days”, WHO mentioned.
The WHO additionally famous it’s unsure whether or not the noticed speedy development price could be attributed to immune evasion, intrinsic elevated transmissibility or a mixture of each.
Moreover, on severity of Omicron, the UN well being physique acknowledged that the info is “still limited”.
However, hospitalisations within the UK and South Africa as a result of variant proceed to rise, and given quickly rising case counts, it’s attainable that many healthcare programs might turn out to be shortly overwhelmed.
Preliminary information recommend that there’s a discount in neutralising titres in opposition to Omicron in those that have obtained a major vaccination sequence or in those that have had prior SARS-CoV-2 an infection, which can recommend a stage of immune evasion.
“There is still limited available data, and no peer-reviewed evidence, on vaccine efficacy or effectiveness to date for Omicron,” the WHO mentioned.
Source: IANS
