World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said on Monday that compared to the delta variant of Covid-19, the Omicron variant is three times more likely to re-infection 90 days after the first attack of the virus.
Dr Swaminathan said that while data on the virus and its spread on the variant will take time, what scientists currently know is that Omicron is the dominant variant in South Africa.
Swaminathan said, “Re-infection is three times more common after 90 days of infection in Omicron as compared to the delta variant. It is still early to understand the clinical features of Omicron infection. There is a lag between the rise in cases and the hospitalization. We will have to wait for two to three weeks to study the hospitalization rates to know how serious the disease is.”
"The cases of Omicron variants are increasing rapidly in South Africa. Reports suggest that children are getting more infected with this strain there. Testing has also been increased in South Africa."
Swaminathan pointed out that at present there are not many vaccines available for children and only a few countries have introduced vaccination for children and due to this, cases may increase in children. He said, “There are not many vaccines available for children and very few countries are vaccinating children. Children and uninfected people can become more infected as cases increase. We are still waiting for the data to rule out the effect of the Omicron variant on children.”
Swaminathan said, “We need to take a comprehensive and science-based approach on vaccination. This is the same virus that we are dealing with and hence the measures to prevent it will be the same. If we need a variant vaccine, it will depend on how much 'immune escape' the variant has."
He said that all countries should study the vaccine data on the basis of age and region to assess those who have missed the vaccination. Swaminathan said it should be a priority to vaccinate all people above 18 years of age to reduce infection.
