WHO Sounds Warning Over Fast-Spreading Omicron Variant

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said Omicron variant is spreading faster than the Delta variant and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease.

WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said it would be “unwise” to conclude from early evidence that Omicron was a milder variant than previous ones.

According to Swaminathan, “with the numbers going up, all health systems are going to be under strain.”

The variant is successfully evading some immune responses, she said, meaning that the booster programmes being rolled out in many countries ought to be targeted towards people with weaker immune systems.

He added: “There is now consistent evidence that Omicron is spreading significantly faster than the Delta variant.”

Also speaking, the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus it is more likely people vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 could be infected or re-infected.

Their comments echoed the finding of study by Imperial College London, which said last week the risk of reinfection was more than five times higher and it has shown no sign of being milder than Delta.

WHO officials said however that other forms of immunity vaccinations may prevent infection and disease.

While the antibody defences from some actions have been undermined, there has been hope that T-cells, the second pillar of an immune response, can prevent severe disease by attacking infected human cells.

WHO expert Abdi Mahamud added: “Although we are seeing a reduction in the neutralisation antibodies, almost all preliminary analysis shows T-cell mediated immunity remains intact, that is what we really require.”

However, highlighting how little is known about how to handle the new variant that was only detected last month, Swaminathan also said: “Of course there is a challenge, many of the monoclonals will not work with Omicron.”

She gave no details as she referred to the treatments that mimic natural antibodies in fighting off infections. Some drug makers have suggested the same.

In the short term, Tedros said that holiday festivities would in many places lead to “increased cases, overwhelmed health systems and more deaths” and urged people to postpone gatherings.

“An event cancelled is better than a life cancelled,” he said.