A WHO expert has said that the Omicron variant is likely to replace Delta as the most dominant strain of COVID-19 soon.
The Delta variant of COVID-19 hit the entire globe like a storm during the second wave of the pandemic, leading to some of the worst symptoms of the virus being experienced by the patients, even leading to adverse and long-term side effects.
As the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing across the globe again, due to the rise of the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has now stated that the new COVID-19 variant can soon replace Delta as the most dominant strain of the virus.
A top health expert from WHO has said that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has the ability to evade immunity and infect patients and may soon overtake the Delta variant. Though the number of Omicron cases is increasing, the severity of the symptoms remains low.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 body chief, said that it is likely that the Omicron variant has reached every country across the globe. The variant is three times more infectious than Delta, and could become the dominant variant of the virus in a short time, Kerkhove said.
Several experts from across the globe, including Indian researchers, have also come to a similar conclusion, keeping in mind the sudden surge of COVID-19 cases ever since the Omicron variant was detected in South Africa in November 2021.
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has said in a bulletin, “Omicron has a clear growth advantage over Delta with the highest level of immune escape so far as well as high intrinsic transmissibility, leading to larger outbreaks than seen with Delta.”
Earlier, a WHO update had also stated, “This variant has been shown to have a shorter doubling time as compared to previous variants, with transmission occurring even amongst those vaccinated or with a history of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection; there is increasing evidence that this variant is able to evade immunity.”
According to experts, the Omicron variant has been detected in over 150 countries till now, in less than two months since it was first detected. Though it is fast spreading, most of the patients reportedly are asymptomatic or are experiencing very mild symptoms.
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 "Omicron replacing Delta as most dominant COVID-19 strain? Here’s what experts are saying")
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