The Ómicron variant seems to spread more than Delta, with milder symptoms, which weakens the action of vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today, although it stressed that these data are preliminary. The new variant was present in 63 countries as of Dec. 9, the U.N. health body added in a technical update released at its Geneva headquarters and in line with recent statements by some of its officials. For the organism, Ómicron seems to spread faster than the delta variant, which until now is responsible for most of the infections in the world. In this sense, the fastest advance is not exclusive to South Africa, where Delta is less prevalent, but also in the United Kingdom, where Delta is the dominant. However, at the moment the lack of more information prevents us from affirming whether the transmission rate of Ómicron is due to the lack of immunity, its characteristics make it more contagious or a combination of both factors.
The WHO projected that “Ómicron will overtake Delta in places where there is community transmission,” the AFP news agency reported.
The data are still insufficient to establish the level of severity of the clinical picture caused by the new variant, even if at the moment the symptoms seem to be “mild to moderate” both in southern Africa and in Europe.On vaccines, the few available data suggest that the genetic profile of Ómicron, with most of its mutations in the protein the virus uses to colonize human cells, “it lowers the efficacy of protection against contagion,” the WHO concluded.
In this note:
