WHO Brief says Overall risk from Omicron remains high as many questions remain

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Tue, 2021-12-14 00:06 — mike kraft

Overall risk from Omicron remains high as many questions remain, WHO says The overall risk from the Omicron variant remains high, and more information is still needed about the variant, the World Health Organization said in a technical brief about the variant, published Friday. By <a href="/profiles/meg-wagner">Meg Wagner</a> and Melissa Macaya, CNN CNN

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“The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high for a number of reasons,” the technical brief said. “First, the global risk of COVID-19 remains very high overall, and second, preliminary evidence suggests potential humoral immune escape against infection and high transmission rates, which could lead to further surges with severe consequences. Our understanding is still evolving, and the risk assessment will be updated as more information becomes available.”

The overall threat of Omicron is dependent on three key factors, WHO says:

How transmissible the variant is
How well vaccines and prior infection prevent against infection, transmission, clinical disease and death
How virulent Omicron is compared to other variants

WHO says Omicron appears to have a growth advantage over Delta, adding that it is spreading faster than Delta in South Africa, where there was low Delta circulation. But, it also appears to spread faster in countries with high incidence of Delta, based on current limited evidence, the organizations says.

“Given the current available data, it is likely that Omicron will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs,” WHO says. ...

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