Tag: Who

OMICRON Is Still Killing People: WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove

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.

WHO On Emergence Of New COVID19 Variants!

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.

Pandemic Records Are Tumbling! Top COVID & OMICRON Headlines

Amidst Omicron Surge, New ‘Highly Contagious’ Covid-19 Variant IHU Emerges

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.