WHO Chief Scientist Urges People Not To Panic Over Omicron Variant

The World Health Organization (WHO’s) chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, on Friday urged people, not to panic over the emergence of the Omicron Variant and said it was too early to say if COVID-19 vaccines would have to be modified to fight it.

Earlier, Prime Business Africa reported that the WHO said a new coronavirus variant of concern Omicron has been detected in 23 countries.

Swaminathan, however, noted that the right response was to be ready, saying, “How worried should we be? We need to be prepared and cautious, not panic, because we’re in a different situation to a year ago.

“Delta accounts for 99% of infections around the world. This variant would have to be more transmissible to out-compete and become dominant worldwide. It is possible, but it’s not possible to predict.”

“Much remains unknown about Omicron, which has been detected in more than two dozen countries as parts of Europe grapple with a wave of infections of the more familiar Delta variant. We need to wait, lets hope it’s milder . but it’s too early to conclude about the variant as a whole.”

PBA Reporter

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