By: Nyima Sillah
World Health Organization has released new research indicating that the Omicron variant cases are surging rapidly around the world.
According to the WHO medical report, the transmissibility of Omicron is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible (e.g., more easily spread from person to person) compared to other variants, including Delta.
The number of people testing positive has risen in areas of South Africa affected by this variant, but epidemiologic studies are underway to understand if it is because of Omicron or other factors.
However, WHO confirmed the severity of the disease saying: It is not yet clear whether infection with Omicron causes more severe disease compared to infections with other variants, including Delta. Adding that Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection with Omicron.
“All variants of COVID-19, including the Delta variant that is dominant worldwide, can cause severe disease or death, in particular for the most vulnerable people, and thus prevention is always keys.
Moreover, “preliminary evidence suggests that there may be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron (that is people who have previously had COVID-19 could become re-infected more easily with Omicron), as compared to other variants of concern, but information is limited. More information on this will become available in the coming days and weeks,” the report said.
The WHO report shows that they are working with technical partners to understand the potential impact of this variant on existing countermeasures, including vaccines. Vaccines remain critical to reducing severe disease and death, including against the dominant circulating virus, Delta. Current vaccines remain effective against severe disease and death.
It continued in the statement that the widely used PCR tests continue to detect infection, including infection with Omicron, as they have seen with other variants as well. Studies are ongoing to determine whether there is any impact on other types of tests, including rapid antigen detection tests.
“Blockers will still be effective for managing patients with severe COVID-19. Other treatments will be assessed to see if they are still as effective given the changes to parts of the virus in the Omicron variant,” the report disclosed.
