The World Health Organization logo is pictured at the entrance to the WHO building in Geneva, Switzerland, December 20, 2021. REUTERS / Denis Balibouse

GENEVA, December 20 (Reuters) – The Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads faster than the Delta variant and causes infections in people who have already been vaccinated or who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease, according to the head of the World Organization of health (WHO) said Monday.

WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan added that it would be “unwise” to conclude from early evidence that Omicron was a milder variant than previous ones.

“… as the numbers increase, all health systems are going to be strained,” Soumya Swaminathan told reporters based in Geneva.

The variant successfully escapes certain immune responses, she said, which means the booster programs being rolled out in many countries should target people with weaker immune systems.

“There is now consistent evidence that Omicron spreads much faster than the Delta variant,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the briefing.

“And people vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 are more likely to be infected or re-infected,” Tedros said.

Their comments echoed the findings of a study from Imperial College London, which said last week the risk of re-infection was more than five times higher and showed no signs of being more. sweet than Delta.

WHO officials have said, however, that other forms of immune vaccinations can prevent infection and disease.

While the antibody defenses of certain actions have been undermined, there has been hope that T cells, the second pillar of an immune response, could prevent serious disease by attacking infected human cells.

WHO expert Abdi Mahamud added: “Although we are seeing a reduction in neutralizing antibodies, almost all preliminary analyzes show that T-cell-mediated immunity remains intact, which is what we really need. “

However, pointing out how little is known about how to handle the new variant which was only detected last month, Swaminathan also said: “Of course there is a challenge, many monoclonal will not work. not with Omicron. “

She gave no details when discussing treatments that mimic natural antibodies to fight infections. Some drug makers have suggested the same.

END THE PANDEMIC

In the short term, Tedros said the holiday festivities in many places would result in “increased cases, overwhelmed health systems and more deaths” and urged people to postpone the rallies.

“A canceled event is better than a canceled life,” he said.

But the WHO team also offered some hope to a world tired in the face of the new wave that 2022 will be the year of the end of the pandemic, which has already killed more than 5.6 million people. people around the world.

He highlighted the development of second and third generation vaccines, and the further development of antimicrobial treatments and other innovations.

“(We) hope to turn this disease over to a relatively mild disease that is easily prevented, which is easily treated,” Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergency expert, said at the briefing.

“If we can keep transmission of the virus to a minimum, then we can end the pandemic. “

However, Tedros also said that China, where the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, must provide data and information related to its origin to help the response move forward.

“We have to keep going until we know the origins, we have to push harder because we have to learn from what happened this time in order to (do) better in the future,” Tedros said.

Reporting by Stéphanie Nebehay and Emma Farge; Editing by Alison Williams

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