World
According to WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove, statements like Omicron is mild, the pandemic is over are misinformation.
Updated : Mar 20, 2022, 09:08 PM IST | Edited by : Parul Sharma
As we hear about a fresh outbreak of Covid-19 cases in China and South Korea, the world seems to be trapped under the grips of the virus once again. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), the rising number of cases across the countries and the newly detected variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus in Israel has increased the pandemic-induced confusion among people.
According to WHO’s Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove, statements like Omicron is mild, the pandemic is over, and this is the last variant, are all misinformation.
“However, with huge numbers of cases, you will see an increase in hospitalisations and that in turn has translated into increased deaths, primarily in people not vaxxed or partially vaxxed”, she added.
Highlighting the benefits of vaccination, Maris says that the nations that are witnessing increasing mortality rates than previous waves have not vaccinated their people, especially the vulnerable group of people.
Here's what Maria Van Kerkhove says about the current Covid-19 situation:
We have huge amounts of misinformation that's out there. The misinformation that Omicron is mild. Misinformation that the pandemic is over. Misinformation that this is the last variant that we will have to deal with. This is really causing a lot of confusion @mvankerkhove pic.twitter.com/Ou7vuiV1GD
— Cleavon MD (@Cleavon_MD) March 19, 2022