Spread to more than 70 countries in less than January! WHO says the risk of the Amikerron strain is underestimated

21st Century Business Herald reporter Shu Xiaoting Beijing reported that on December 15, local time, the Philippine Department of Health said that it had found two cases of imported Omiljung strain infection. On the 14th, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed out that 77 countries and regions have reported confirmed cases of infection with the Omiljung strain, which is spreading at an unimaginable speed, and the risk of the virus is underestimated. "Even if the Omiljun strain is not highly pathogenic, its ability to spread quickly alone could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems."

In countries where the Omiljung strain has been found, the number of confirmed cases of the virus varies. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on December 15 that by next week the Omiljung strain could become the main strain affecting the progress of the outbreak in the country. A week ago, the Olmikron strain accounted for only 1% of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, and may jump to 14% next week.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 33 U.S. states have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 infected with the Omiljun virus; confirmed cases of delta variant virus account for 96% of all sequencing cases, while the proportion of confirmed cases infected with the Omiljung virus has risen from less than 0.5% two weeks ago to about 3%. In addition, UK health agencies have warned that by mid-December, confirmed cases of infection with the Omicroon virus could account for 50% of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK.

The Omiljung strain was first reported to WHO by South Africa on 24 November this year. At a time when the strain is spreading rapidly, there are still large disparities in vaccination rates across countries. According to information published by WHO, there are currently 41 countries worldwide with less than 10% vaccination coverage and 98 countries with less than 40% vaccination coverage. Among them, the agency has evaluated and predicted that Africa may reach 40% vaccination coverage by May 2022 and 70% by August 2024.

It is important to note that different groups do not enjoy equal opportunities in terms of vaccination. "If we allow this inequality to persist, it means that COVID-19 will persist." Tedros said.

At the same time, Tedros pointed out that vaccines alone cannot lift countries out of this crisis, and in order to prevent the spread of the Amicoreng strain, the current effective measures that countries can and must take include wearing masks, social distancing and ventilation.

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