The World Health Organisation (WHO) has addressed its concerns surrounding the newly-found, heavily-mutated COVID-19 variant and has named it B.1.1.529 or ‘Omicron.’
The organisation’s Technical Advisory Group met on Friday to discuss the variant, expressing the preliminary evidence suggest increased risks of reinfection compared to other variants.
A spokesperson for WHO stated in a recent video that while the Delta variant is predominant in Europe, the main priority should be to increase vaccination coverage in all eligible groups as well as an increased focus on booster doses.
‘Omicron’ has been reportedly detected at faster rates compared to surges of other variants and it remains to be seen whether or not vaccine immunity is effective against such a variant. On Friday, Malta banned travel to and from South Africa and a number other other South African countries, with the European Union and United States imposing a number of similar bans.
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Photo Source: The Sun / World Health Organisation (WHO)
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