WHO Regional Director for Europe warned that "it is far too early to relax" because new Covid-19 variants are almost certain to emerge.
"We will need to learn to manage it through a sustained and integrated system for acute respiratory diseases, which will provide a platform for preparedness for future pandemics."
Although scientists say it is not yet necessary to tweak existing jabs, yet they warn of the emergence of a vaccine-evading variant. Thus, developing a global mechanism to make decisions about how and when to introduce these next generation jabs will be "critical".
The WHO's emergencies director, Mike Ryan, also warned that Omicron's increased transmissibility is likely to drive a rise in hospitalisations and deaths, especially in nations where fewer people are vaccinated.
India on Wednesday reported 2,82,970 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours, which is a rise of over 18 per cent from the previous day's count.
The WHO also made a conditional recommendation for the use of the monoclonal antibody sotrovimab in patients with non-severe Covid-19, but only in those at highest risk of hospitalisation, reflecting trivial benefits in those at lower risk.
South Africa, where the Omicron variant was first reported, saw a 9 per cent fall in weekly infections.
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At the same time, while the immunisations remain very effective at preventing severe disease and death, they do not fully prevent transmission.
While the number of patients being hospitalised is increasing in most countries, it is not at the level seen in previous waves.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that current Covid-19 vaccines may need to be updated if they are to provide continued protection against emerging variants, including Omicron.
According to Hans Kluge, WHO Europe Director, 26 countries in the region reported that more than 1 per cent of their populations are being infected with Covid each week, The Telegraph reported.
Meanwhile, India witnessed a 21 per cent surge in 24 hours, as it recorded more than 1.4 lakh fresh Covid infections on Friday.
The strain is also known as the 'IHU' variant because it was first identified by academics at the IHU Mediterranee Infection institute in Marseille, France
WHO said that while Africa still reported a weekly increase in the number of new deaths, all the other regions in the world reported a decrease as compared to the previous week.
The big headache for the State policymakers is nearly 75 percent of new infections come from the vaccinated age group of 19-40 years.
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Meanwhile, WHO on Tuesday also stated that emerging evidence reveals that the Omicron is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants.
In a separate tweet on Friday, Swaminathan said: "Hospitalisations are also rising, mostly in unvaccinated people. Though #Omicron may cause less severe disease, a small percent of a huge number is still very large & can overwhelm health systems".
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated his concern over a recent narrative that Omicron has been causing milder or less severe diseases, Xinhua news agency reported.
The warning comes as the new Omicron variant in the US has driven daily Covid-19 new cases to a record high of over 510,000.
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