World Health Speaks on New COVID-19 Variant Omicron
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION – WHO named the new COVID-19 variant that is currently a global concern “Omicron”.
Reportedly first recorded in China, the COVID-19 virus abruptly spread across the globe and shakened the healthcare system of different countries. It took millions of lives and pulled the economy of many countries down.
Even the World Health Organization (WHO) was alarmed by how fast the COVID-19 virus spread. It was more than a year ago since WHO declared it a pandemic and warned countries not to let their guards down early to prevent another surge of the disease.
However, in many countries, there were instances when the COVID-19 cases dropped then went up again after some time. The virus mutated and different variants were detected in different nations.
Some variants like the Delta variant became a variant of concern. It was found to have a higher transmissibility rate compared with other variants.
Recently, another variant was detected in South Africa and it is now a global concern. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the said variant, the B.1.1.529, has already been detected in Hong Kong as well.
The World Health Organization named the new variant of concern “omicron”. According to the report, this COVID-19 variant has the capacity to spread faster than the other variants as it has a large and concerning number of mutations. It is the fifth variant to become a global concern.
World Health said that Omicron may have “a growth advantage”. The current PCR test remains to have the capacity to detect this new variant of COVID-19. The international body warned countries to take a “risk-based and scientific approach” in dealing with the pandemic and implementing travel measures.
As of this writing, the effectiveness of the vaccines against this new variant has yet to be determined and it may take weeks. More updates may be posted soon.
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