Heed WHO warning on Omicron

We cannot afford to be complacent

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest warning that the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, is spreading fast and that all countries should act swiftly to rein in transmission and protect their healthcare systems should be taken seriously. WHO has said that Omicron infections have been reported in 77 countries and it had probably spread to most nations undetected "at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant”. The first death caused by it has been reported in Britain and the number of cases has started increasing in South Africa, the UK and some other European countries. Europe accounts for most cases reported till now. In the UK, there is an official warning of a “tidal wave” of Omicron infections. According to some projections, the wave of infections may peak in January-February.

The nature and behaviour of the variant can be fully understood only in the coming weeks but there is a view that it is not as dangerous as the Delta variant. It has not caused too many deaths in the countries where it has been reported but is considered to be more transmissive. The efficacy of existing vaccines against it is not fully established. Though one vaccine has been claimed to be 70% effective in stopping severe illness from Omicron, another has been seen to have no anti-body protections against it. In any case, EU health agency ECDC has said that there is too little time to stop the spread of Omicron with the help of vaccination. WHO experts have strongly warned against "jumping to a conclusion that this is a mild disease” and that “we could be setting ourselves up for a very dangerous situation.” Some European countries have started reintroducing restrictions and closures, especially in view of the approaching Christmas days. There are also worries that the variant might affect the global economic recovery, which is yet to take hold.

India may also see a surge of the pandemic induced by Omicron in the coming weeks. Some researchers have predicted that cases could peak in the country in late January, with 1.1 lakh to 1.5 lakh infections occurring daily. Vaccinations have fully covered only about 40% of the population. Though only a few cases have been reported till now, it is not clear whether there is enough data on the scale of infections based on sequencing. There are other unknowns and imponderables, and there is the challenging prospect of Assembly election campaigns, similar to the campaigns before the second wave early this year. There should be no complacency, and people should stick to the basics of Covid protocol.