The WHO confirms that the Omicron is not as severe as the Delta version

Amid growing global concerns about Omicron, a new version of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that is thought to be more transmissible and capable of frequent mutations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has addressed concerns about the effectiveness of existing vaccines against the new strain. A senior WHO official told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that there was no reason to assume that Omicron was stricter than previous versions or that existing vaccines would fail against it.

Michael Ryan, director of the World Health Organization for emergencies, said in an interview with AFP that there are currently no signs that Omicron, although highly contagious, is causing a more serious illness than previous versions of Covid-19, such as Delta . Existing vaccines should protect people who become infected Omicron against the worst outcomes of the disease, he said.

“We have very effective vaccines that have proven effective against all variants so far, in terms of serious illness and hospitalization, and there is no reason to expect that to be the case. [for Omicron], “said a WHO official.

Ryan, however, said more research is needed to study the Omicron version to properly understand how dangerous it is prepared.

A similar assurance was reiterated on Tuesday by U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, who said Omicron certainly not inferior to previous strains, including Delta.

According to the U.S. president’s chief health adviser, Omicron is “obviously very transferable,” but it could actually be less serious than Delta, as shown by the relationship between the number of infections and the number of hospitalizations in South Africa.

See also:

Fauci also said more epidemiological data from around the world are needed to confirm scientific consensus. Results of laboratory experiments that tested the strength of antibodies from current vaccines Omicron he is expected to arrive in the next few days within a week, he added.

Meanwhile, researchers in South Africa have found that Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine actually provides less immunity to the Omicron version than to other major versions of the virus. The loss of immune protection is “strong but not complete,” Alex Sigal, head of research at the African Medical Research Institute in Durban, said in an online presentation of the first reported trials to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine against the new version.

(This story was written by Joydeep Bose. He is an online content producer with the Hindustan Times.)