Covid-19: for the WHO, the Omicron variant presents “a very high risk” at the global level

“To date, no death associated with the Omicron variant has been reported,” said the WHO in a technical document published Monday, November 29, which also gives advice to the authorities to try to curb the spread of the new variant. “Given the mutations that could confer escape potential to the immune response as well as possibly give an advantage in terms of transmissibility, the likelihood of Omicron spreading globally is high,” the organization said.

The WHO has released the information as the list of the number of countries where the variant is detected continues to grow, after the first cases detected in southern Africa in November. “Depending on these characteristics, there could be future peaks of Covid-19, which could have severe consequences depending on different factors and in particular where these peaks would occur,” added the World Health Organization, which had as of Friday classified the variant as “worrying”.

The organization stresses, however, that many unknowns remain about this variant: its contagiousness, whether it is inherent to the mutations observed or whether it is due to the fact that this variant is better able to escape the immune response; the level of protection conferred by existing anti-Covid vaccines in terms of contagiousness and severity of the disease; if the variant causes more severe symptoms.