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The coronavirus pandemic is “not even close to the end,” the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, while the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has faced many countries with a record of coronavirus infections.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for caution over claims that the Omicron variant poses less risk, simply because it appears to cause milder symptoms.
“Omicron may be less harsh, but the narrative that it is a mild disease is a hoax,” he told reporters at the WHO headquarters in Geneva.
“Make no mistake: Omicron is causing hospitalization and death, so even the lightest cases are burdening the health system,” he added.
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is now dominant in many parts of the world, from Brazil to France.
The data suggest that existing coronavirus vaccines are less effective in preventing Omicron infection compared to other variants, but vaccine doses offer protection against serious illness and death.
There is hope that the combination of vaccinated people and the rest that have antibodies from coronavirus infection, may result in a degree of what is known as herd immunity.
This has sparked debate over whether the coronavirus will turn into endemic.
Michael Ryan, director of emergency at the WHO, said in a panel organized by the World Economic Forum that “this virus can never end”, because such a virus “can become part of the ecosystem” ./ REL
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