Omicron’s impact a concern

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is concerned about the impact the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Omicron variant on exhausted health workers and overburdened health systems.
Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus raised the concern after more than 18 million reported Covid-19 cases worldwide.
“In some countries, cases seem to have peaked, which gives hope that the worst of this latest wave is done with, but, no country is out of the woods yet,” Ghebreyesus said.
“I remain concerned about many countries that have low vaccination rates, as people are, many times, more at risk of severe illness and death if they are unvaccinated.”
He said Omicron could be less severe, on average of course, “but the narrative that it is mild disease is misleading, hurts the overall response and costs more lives”.
“Make no mistake, Omicron is causing hospitalisations and deaths, and the less severe cases are inundating health facilities,” he said.
Ghebreyesus said the virus was circulating far too intensely with many still vulnerable.
“For many countries, the next few weeks remain critical for health workers and health systems,” he said.