The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been reported in 89 countries so far, and is spreading very fast, the World Health Organization said on Saturday.
The number of cases is doubling in 1.5-3 days in areas with community transmission. The variant is spreading fast in populations even with high levels of immunity, such as the U.K. where nearly 70% of the population is fully vaccinated, but it is not clear whether this is because the variant is highly transmissible or because it evades immunity or both.
In the U.K., Omicron cases rose by 10,000 in just 24 hours. Cases have been spreading like “lightning” across Europe, in the words of the French Prime Minister, prompting governments to tighten travel restrictions and impose new curfews, causing frustration and triggering protests in places.
While trends in hospitalisation have been encouraging as per initial studies, the WHO has warned that there is not enough data to understand the severity of this variant and that cases could overwhelm hospitals once again.
This comes as warning to India where over 100 cases of Omicron have been reported across 11 States, vaccination rates are behind target, and mask usage has drastically declined. The Government has said its priority now is to increase the number of second doses: while 87% of the adult population have got one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, only 56% have got both.
With less than two weeks left for the year to end, the Government is far from achieving its target of vaccinating the entire adult population by year-end.
The Government is also yet to approve booster doses in India or vaccines for children. More than 60 countries provide booster doses. There are four clinical trials going on in India to test the feasibility of mixing the approved vaccines and using them as boosters.
The WHO’s warning provides a sense of urgency to prepare for a fresh outbreak of cases and that is why this is the top story of the day. (The Hindu)
