: Omicron May Fuel Surges, WHO Warns Amid Transmission Concern #WorldNEWS The World Health Organization warned that the new coronavirus variant could fuel surges with “severe consequences”

Omicron May Fuel Surges, WHO Warns Amid Transmission Concern #WorldNEWS
The World Health Organization warned that the new coronavirus variant could fuel surges with “severe consequences” amid signs that it makes Covid-19 more transmissible.
Scientists in South Africa, where omicron was first detected, said it appears to spread more easily but existing vaccines are still likely to protect against severe illness. The Geneva-based WHO assessed the variant’s risk as “extremely high” and called on member states to test widely. Understanding the new strain will take several days or weeks, the agency said.
“We don’t have enough data to determine vaccine effectiveness against omicron or disease severity, so any claims about either at this stage are not evidence-based,” said Raina MacIntyre, professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. “So far, the virus has not mutated to become less severe in fact the opposite. ”
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Governments around the world are banning travelers from South Africa and nearby countries amid fears omicron could evade vaccines, exacerbate Covid surges and frustrate efforts to reopen economies. While news of the new variant wreaked havoc in global financial markets on Friday, trading in Asia Monday indicated investors were waiting for more clarity as scientists work to better understand omicron.
Omicron’s mutations may make it easier for the virus to evade existing immunity, the WHO said in a technical briefing document for its members. It warned of “future surges of Covid-19, which could have severe consequences. ”
The variant was first detected earlier this month. It’s characterized by some 30 or more genetic changes, half of which are in the part of the spike protein used to bind to human ACE-2, which is the enzyme the coronavirus targets to enter cells and cause an infection. Mutations there can make the spike protein less recognizable to the antibodies produced in response to vaccination or a natural infection.
Urgent Meeting
The U. K. government will convene an urgent meeting of Group of Seven health ministers Monday to discuss the latest developments, according to the country’s Department of Health. In the U. S. , President Joe Biden will also give an update on Monday, the White House said.
Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, called symptoms associated with the variant at this point “different and so mild” compared with others she’s treated in recent months.
Coetzee, who first spotted what turned out to be the new variant, told the U. K. ’s Telegraph newspaper that a number of healthy young men turned up at her clinic “feeling so tired.