WHO: Don’t Dismiss Omicron as Mild, Spread is Faster Than Any Other Variant

THE head of the World Health Organization on Tuesday warned the globe against underestimating the omicron variant, saying it’s moving faster than any previous COVID-19 strain.

 “Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing. “We’re concerned that people are dismissing omicron as mild. Surely, we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril.”

Tedros said that while the variant may cause less severe disease, its high transmissibility might mean that “the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems.”

And even if the proportion of people hospitalized with severe disease is smaller than with previous strains, the large number of infections means that more deaths and more hospitalizations can be expected.

The comments come shortly after preliminary data out of South Africa showed that omicron appears