WHO Warns That the World Should be Prepared as Omicron Will be a High Global Risk

By
Shawn Ambrose
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If there’s anything we’ve learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of the Delta variant, it’s that we should always be prepared for a new outbreak.

This can be another coronavirus strain or another disease altogether.

The reason COVID-19 hit us so hard, as Bill Gates predicted in a Ted Talk years ago, is that we were ill-prepared and caught off guard.

After being devastated by the Delta variant, countries all over the world are hurriedly imposing border restrictions to keep the newly-discovered Omicron variant at bay.

And while these measures may be overzealous, the risk of a global outbreak is real.

WHO Warns That the World Should be Prepared as Omicron Will be a High Global Risk

While there’s still a lot we don’t know about the Omicron variant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged nations to be prepared for an outbreak.

“The overall global risk…is assessed as very high.”

The organisation urged its member states to acceleration its vaccination drive for vulnerable groups and called for a new global agreement on dealing with pandemics.

If infections with the Omicron surge, it could have “severe consequences” in some places, WHO said.

What We Know About Omicron

The Omicron variant was first detected on 24 Nov in South Africa, coinciding with a rise in cases there.

As the WHO noted, Omicron has an “unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic.”

However, it is not yet clear if the strain is more transmissible or more likely to cause severe disease.

While there has been a rise in South Africa’s case numbers, it’s unclear if it’s due to the Omicron variant or other factors, the organisation said.

“Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection with Omicron,” it added.

There is also currently no evidence to suggest that those infected with the Omicron strain will experience different symptoms to the ones associated with other variants.

Studies are underway to answer these questions.

What we do know, is that there seems to be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron, based on preliminary evidence.

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So, What Should We Do?

As it’s been classed as a “variant of concern”, the WHO recommends that countries enhance their surveillance and sequencing of genomes and report initial cases or clusters to WHO, among other things.

It also advised countries to take a “risk-based approach to adjust international travel measures”.

“Our current system disincentivizes countries from alerting others to threats that will inevitably land on their shores.”

Some scientists feel that South Africa is being “punished” for reporting a new variant, and noted that this could discourage other countries from doing the same in the future.

The WHO said countries should continue to implement effective public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but also increase their public health and medical capacities to manage a potential increase in cases.

As for us individuals, we should continue to wear masks, avoid poorly ventilated or crowded spaces, and get vaccinated (or booster shots) when it’s our turn.

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Featured Image: Elenarts/ shutterstock.com

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]