The World Health Organization said on Monday that the new omicron Covid strain is causing high alert in the world, but it is still responsible for most of the infections.
More deaths are occurring in the unvaccinated because of the delta variant, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told CNBC on Monday. While we wait to find out more about the omicron variant, that is our priority.
The global health agency recognized the omicron variant as a variant of concern last week. It could be more skilled at evading public health measures. South African scientists first identified the strain.
The first detection of Delta was in India.
Health experts are concerned about the omicron variant's transmissibility because of its unusual constellation of mutations and profile.
It is important that all people who have not received a full course of vaccine get one.
The profile of the mutations suggests that it may be able to evade immune protection, for example, from a monoclonal antibody or from the convalescent serum.
Fauci said it was a strong indication that we need to be prepared for that.
Scientists need time to conduct experiments and collect data that will help answer some of the fundamental questions surrounding the new variant, according to WHO.
We would like to know if this variant is more transmissible than delta. She asked if there was a different clinical pattern, if it was less severe when it causes disease, and if it was able to evade immune responses.
She called on countries where the omicron variant has been detected to share their clinical data and genomic sequence data with WHO.
The omicron variant has been found in many places, including the United Kingdom, Israel, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and Australia. Many countries have tightened travel restrictions from southern Africa in order to contain the spread of the new strain.
Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and other vaccine makers are investigating and testing the omicron variant.
For the moment, it should be assumed that the existing vaccines will provide some protection against the new strain.
She said that it was important that people who had only one dose of vaccine get a full course.
The major cause of the global epidemic is the delta variant of the H1N1 strain, and there are still a lot of people who haven't had their first course of vaccines.
The data from Our World In Data shows that around 43% of the world population has been fully vaccineed. A small percentage of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.
The WHO has criticized vaccine inequity as most shots have been administered in affluent or middle-income countries.
