The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday (8) that the Omicron version coronavirus It appears to have a higher rate of reinfection but produces less severe symptoms.
“Preliminary data from South Africa suggest an increased risk of reinfection by Omicron, but more data are needed to draw strong conclusions. There is also evidence that Omicron causes less severe symptoms than Delta,” said Tedros. Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press meeting. Geneva.
In order to quickly obtain a more accurate picture of the characteristics of the variant, he urged all countries to contribute to its evaluation by transmitting their data to WHO and, at the same time, requesting that they continue their efforts in the areas of vaccination and respect. Keep it Obstacle signs.
WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan also cited preliminary studies published in recent days showing that the Omicron version makes the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine less effective, but urged extreme caution in interpreting the data.
“There is a wide variation in the effectiveness of antibodies from as little as 4 to 5 times to as low as 40 times in these different studies”, which are limited to their effect on antibodies, “when we know that the immune system is somewhat more complex.” . “, They told.
“It is premature to conclude that reducing the activity of neutralizing antibodies should lead to a significant reduction in vaccine effectiveness,” he said.
