Reinfection With Omicron Seems To Be 3 Times More Common Than With Delta: WHO
Mumbai: WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan has said that data from South Africa revealed that reinfection after 90 days with Omicron seems to be about three times more common than it was with Delta.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Dr Swaminathan said that scientists know that the Omicron variant is currently dominant in South Africa and that it will take time to get enough data about the virulence and transmission of the variant.
“Re-infection is three times more common after 90 days of infection in Omicron than in Delta. [These are] early days to understand the clinical features of Omicron infection. We must wait for two to three weeks to study hospitalisation rates to know how severe this disease is,” reports quoted her as saying to CNBC-TV18.
She added: “Cases in South Africa are rising fast with omicron variant. Reports show that more children are getting infected by this strain in that country. South Africa is also testing more.”
She said that there are not many COVID-19 vaccines available for children and only a few countries are vaccinating their children. She warned that the absence of vaccines for children could lead to an increase in COVID-19 infections.
Citing the reports she said, “There are not many vaccines available for children and very few countries are vaccinating children. Children and uninfected people may get more infections as cases arise. We are still waiting for data to conclude omicron variant’s impact on children.”
“We need to take a comprehensive and science-based approach to vaccination. It is the same virus that we are dealing with and hence the prevention measures will be the same. If we need a variant vaccine, it will depend on how much ‘immune escape’ the variant has,” she added.
She said that all countries must study the vaccine data by age and region to assess who have not received their doses. She noted that the “priority should be to vaccinate all those aged above 18 years to reduce transmission”.
She said that vaccines continue to provide strong protection against death, as per data from the US.
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