Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge

GENEVA, (Reuters) – The Omicron coronavirus variant is spreading quicker than the Delta and is causing infection in people who are already vaccinated.

Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist, said it was “unwise to conclude” from the early evidence that Omicron is a milder version than previous versions.

“… With the number going up all health systems will be under strain,” Soumya Swminathan said to Geneva-based journalists.

This variant successfully avoids some immune responses. Booster programmes in many countries need to target people with weaker immune systems.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO director-general) stated at the briefing that there is “consistent evidence” Omicron spreads significantly more quickly than Delta.

Tedros explained that “it is more likely people vaccinated and recovered from COVID-19 could become infected”

These comments echo the findings of Imperial College London’s study, which found that the risk of reinfection is more than five-fold higher than Delta.

However, WHO officials stated that some other vaccines could be used to protect against infection.

Although some of the antibodies have been compromised by certain actions, it is possible that T-cells can be used to prevent serious disease and attack infected cells.

Abdi Mahamud from WHO added that although we see a decline in neutralisation antibodies, most preliminary analysis still shows T-cell-mediated immunity is intact. This is exactly what we require.

Swaminathan said that Omicron is not compatible with many monoclonals, and this highlights how little information is available.

The details were not given as she was referring to treatments that act like natural antibodies and fight infections. Some drug manufacturers have recommended the same.

STOP THE PANDEMIC

Tedros stated that holidays can lead in some places to more “increased deaths, overcrowded health systems, and more cases” and advised people to put off gatherings.

“An Event Cancelled is Better than A Life Cancelled,” he stated.

However, the WHO team provided some comfort to those who were facing an uncertain future. They stated that 2022 would mark the end of the pandemic that had already affected more than 5.6 millions people around the world.

The development of new vaccines of the second and third generations, as well as the continued development of antimicrobial therapies and other innovations was the goal.

Mike Ryan, WHO’s chief emergency specialist, stated that the WHO hoped to reduce the severity of the disease and make it manageable.

“If virus transmission is kept to a minimum, we can stop the spread of pandemics.”

Tedros said that China must also provide information and data about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which was detected for the first time at the beginning 2019 in China.

Tedros stated, “We must keep going until we understand the origins. We need to push harder for what has happened in this past time to do better in the future.”