Omicron seems less severe than Delta but not mild, hospitalizing and killing people: WHO

New Delhi: World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday (January 6) that the Omicron variant appears to be less severe than the delta strain so far, but should not be called a ‘mild variant’.

“Last week, the highest number of COVID-19 cases ever recorded in the pandemic…”, said Tedros Adhanom.

The director general of the health body made the big statement during a press briefing, saying the variant would have a less severe impact on vaccinated individuals than their non-vaccinated counterparts.

global vaccination trend

According to WHO, 109 countries will not be able to fully vaccinate at least 70% of their population by the beginning of July 2022.

As far as total global vaccination is concerned, more than 9.36 billion doses of vaccine have been given in 184 countries, according to Bloomberg data.

Expressing concern over vaccine disparity and health disparity, WHO Director-General Tedros said these were “the biggest failures of the past year”.

“While some countries have enough personal protective equipment, tests and vaccines during this pandemic, many do not have enough to meet basic basic needs or modest goals that no rich country would satisfy.

ommicron threat

The WHO chief said that the Omicron variant is also hospitalizing people and killing the same number of people as the previous ones.

“The tsunami of cases is so large and rapid, that it is taking a toll on health systems around the world. Hospitals are becoming overcrowded and short-circuited, resulting not only from COVID-19 but also from other diseases and injuries. Deaths can be prevented where patients do not get timely treatment.

a new coronavirus version

Meanwhile, a new coronavirus variant B.1.640.2 has been detected in France, also known as the IHU variant. According to the hospital, the variant was found in a passenger returning from Cameroon. The traveler has reportedly infected 12 people in southern France.

Worldwide COVID-19 numbers

According to the WHO, the global number of new COVID cases increased by 71% in the previous week compared to the previous week. However, the number of new deaths came down to 10.

The WHO said in a weekly update on the pandemic situation that from 27 December 2021 to 2 January there were about 9.5 million new cases and more than 41,000 new deaths.

India

Meanwhile, which is said to have already gained a foothold in the third COVID wave triggered by Omicron, which reported 90,928 fresh cases.

According to the Union Health Ministry, India has seen an increase of 6.3 in cases in the last 8 days. The positive cases have increased from 0.79 per cent on December 29, 2021 to 5.03 per cent on January 5.

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