The WHO Says We Underestimate Omicron 'At Our Peril' & The COVID Variant Is Spreading Fast
Even if Omicron is less severe, the WHO says it can still overwhelm hospitals.
Early signs suggest the Omicron variant of COVID-19 might cause less severe illness, but that doesn't mean the world should let its guard down.
The head of the World Health Organization issued a clear warning to countries around the world on Tuesday, saying that the heavily mutated strain of COVID is likely spreading faster than we know, and that it could cause major problems if it's not taken seriously.
"Surely we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril," WHO boss Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference, per BBC News.
Tedros said that Omicron has been confirmed in 77 countries to date, and that it's likely already spread to other countries where it hasn't been detected yet.
Experts are still studying the variant that was first detected in South Africa last month, and early results suggest that it can partially evade the protection offered by vaccines and re-infect people who have already had COVID-19. It also appears to be more transmissible with less severe symptoms, although studies are still underway to confirm all of that.
"Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems," Tedros said. He added that countries must make it a "priority" to vaccinate the unvaccinated.
South Africa first sounded the alarm about Omicron in November. The WHO moved quickly to give it a name and declare it a variant of concern within a matter of days, and many countries responded by slamming their borders shut against travellers from South Africa and neighbouring countries.
But the virus got through anyway, and several countries in Europe are now locking down to stop its spread.
U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned on Tuesday that the country's hospitals could soon be overwhelmed by the virus.
"This is a new national mission," he told lawmakers, as they voted to approve new lockdown rules related to the virus. "A race between the virus and the vaccine to get as many people protected as possible."
Dr. Jenny Harries, the head of the U.K.'s Health Security Agency, said the virus is "doubling faster, growing faster" than experts first thought.
She added that Omicron is "probably the most significant threat we've had since the start of the pandemic," the Associated Press reports.
Pfizer and BioNTech have said that a third shot of their vaccine can "neutralize" the new variant.