The omicron variant of covid-19 is killing people around the world and therefore should not be classified as “mild,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, recalled that the high number of cases caused by omicron, more contagious than the previous delta variant, has caused pressure on hospitals.
“Although omicron appears to be less severe compared to delta, especially for vaccinated people, it does not mean that it should be classified as mild,” the WHO director told a news conference.
“Like the previous variants, omicron causes hospitalizations and is killing people,” he insisted, adding that the exponential increase in infections “is overwhelming health systems around the world.”
Last week, some 9.5 million new infections by covid-19 were notified to the WHO, a record. The figure increased 71% from the previous week.
However, the WHO chief recalls that the real figure is probably higher.
He also used his first speech in 2022 to criticize the way in which rich countries hoarded the doses of available vaccines last year, claiming that the perfect breeding ground for the emergence of variants of the virus had been created.
It is “highly unlikely that omicron is the last variant that is heard of, it will not be the last worrying variant,” warned the technical director in charge of the WHO covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove.
In that sense, Tedros urged the world to distribute vaccine doses more fairly in 2022.
The WHO’s goal was for all countries to have 10% of their population vaccinated by the end of September 2021 and 40% by the end of December.
Of the 194 Member States of the WHO, 92 did not reach the target set and, in fact, 36 of them had not even vaccinated 10% of their population, largely due to the inability to access the doses.
“Inequality in access to vaccines kills people and jobs and undermines the global economic recovery,” the WHO chief insisted.
“One booster dose after another in a small number of countries will not end a pandemic while billions remain completely unprotected,” he denounced.
