3 pieces of misinformation are making COVID thrive: WHO
People falsely think the pandemic is ending, and that Omicron is a ‘harmless’ variant, says WHO's Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove
As COVID cases rise in select pockets worldwide in what is seen as a resurgence of Omicron infections, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed three key reasons that could be behind the trend. The underlying reason is mounting misinformation on the pandemic, said the WHO.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s COVID-19 Technical Lead, said on Saturday that a false narrative is being built that the pandemic is over. Further, it is falsely believed that the Omicron variant is mild, and that it is the ‘last variant’ of the SARS-CoV-2. These three factors are, in fact, helping the virus thrive, she said.
?@WHO updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last week we saw an 8% increases in cases detected with more than 11 million reported, despite a significant reduction of testing occurring worldwide @mvankerkhove pic.twitter.com/IkjZEKMCQ3
— Cleavon MD ? ? ? (@Cleavon_MD) March 18, 2022
“We have huge amounts of misinformation that’s out there. The misinformation that Omicron is mild. Misinformation that the pandemic is over. Misinformation that this is the last variant that we will have to deal with. This is really causing a lot of confusion,” she said.
Vaccination is imperative to contain the pandemic, said Kerkhove, adding that it is highly effective in preventing severe disease and death, including against the Omicron variant.
Also read: Increase testing, be cautious: Centre to states
The BA.2 subvariant
The rising cases are being attributed to the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron, which is thought to be more virulent than BA.1, the earlier variant. Kerkhove agreed that BA.2 appears to be the most transmissible variant so far, but said its severity is not very different from that of BA.1.
India’s #Omicron wave is mostly over but health authorities are now keeping a wary eye on the unfolding global situation — there’s a spike in cases in the Western Pacific region and in parts of Europe. A thread (1/n)
Written by @ajsukumaran https://t.co/q7cQ1sQw2L
— The Federal (@TheFederal_in) March 19, 2022
“We do not see changes in the severity of BA.2 compared to BA.1 at population levels. However, with huge numbers of cases, you will see an increase in hospitalizations & that in turn has translated into increased deaths,” she pointed out.
Recently, the WHO noted that the end of the pandemic is still a long way off. Citing a rise in cases in its latest weekly bulletin, it said the Omicron cases seen now are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
Scenario in India
India, meanwhile, reported 26,240 active COVID cases as of 8 am on Saturday, March 20. Its total vaccination numbers stand at 181.2 crore. The country, earlier this week, began to vaccinate children aged 12 upwards.
