'We can prevent Omicron becoming a global crisis,' WHO warns

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 may change the course of the pandemic, and called on countries to vaccinate their people as fast as possible.

“We can prevent Omicron becoming a global crisis,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “This virus is changing, but our collective resolve must not.”

The WHO also said that, while there’s early evidence that Omicron is milder than the Delta strain, it’s too early to be definitive.

“Certain features of Omicron, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest that it could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic,” Tedros said.

Asked about a new study from the pharma giants Pfizer and BioNTech SE on how their vaccine works against Omicron, Kate O’Brien, director of immunisation and vaccines, said the WHO will look at the findings.

“We are still in a Delta pandemic, so vaccinate with existing vaccines continues to be the top priority,” she said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pfizer and BioNTech said initial lab studies show a third dose of their vaccine may be needed to neutralise Omicron, an analysis that will accelerate booster-shot drives around the world.

Omicron has now spread to 57 countries, and it appears to be more transmissible than previous virus strains. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies programmes, said that, while Omicron appears to have higher transmissibility than Delta, “that does not mean the virus is unstoppable”.