'Omicron may have higher reinfection risk, but': 10 things WHO's latest report reveals - Hindustan Times

The World Health Organization said early data indicates that Omicron, the latest variant of the SARS-CoV-2 first found in South Africa, may easily infect people who have either been infected earlier or vaccinated.

"Emerging data from South Africa suggests increased risk of reinfection with Omicron," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, adding that "there is also some evidence that Omicron causes milder disease than Delta".

Even if vaccines prove less effective against Omicron, as some data indicates, they are still expected to provide significant protection against severe disease, it said.

Regarding Omicron's impact on vaccines, WHO said, "There is a need for more data to assess whether the mutations present on the Omicron variant may result in reduced protection from vaccine-derived immunity and data on vaccine effectiveness, including the use of additional vaccination doses.".

On the severity of Omicron, WHO said even if the severity is equal or potentially even lower than for the Delta variant, it is expected that hospitalizations will increase if more people become infected and that there will be a time lag between an increase in the incidence of cases and an increase in the incidence of deaths.

Providing data of 212 confirmed Omicron cases identified in 18 EU countries till December 6, WHO said all these were mild cases.