Greater than half of Europe shall be contaminated with omicron within the subsequent 2 months: WHO

LONDON — Greater than 50% of Europe’s inhabitants shall be contaminated with the extremely contagious omicron Covid-19 variant over the following two months, based on forecasts shared by a high World Well being Group official.

Dr. Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, cited information from the Seattle-based Institute for Well being Metrics and Analysis at a information briefing Tuesday, saying a brand new “West to East tidal wave” of omicron infections was sweeping throughout the area, on high of the earlier delta variant which remains to be prevalent.

“It [omicron] is rapidly turning into the dominant virus in Western Europe and is now spreading into the Balkans,” Kluge stated. He added that the area noticed greater than 7 million infections within the first week of 2022, greater than doubling over a two-week interval.

“At this charge, the Institute for Well being Metrics and Analysis forecasts that greater than 50% of the inhabitants within the area shall be contaminated with omicron within the subsequent six to eight weeks,” he added.

Omicron has swept the area at an alarming tempo, with some nations reintroducing social restrictions in an effort to curb it. Nevertheless, early proof means that omicron is much less extreme than the delta variant, though there are considerations that the sheer variety of infections might nonetheless overwhelm well being techniques.

John Bell, a regius professor of drugs on the College of Oxford and the U.Ok. authorities’s life sciences advisor, instructed the BBC in late December that omicron was “not the identical illness” as earlier strains.

“The horrific scenes that we noticed a 12 months in the past — intensive care models being full, a number of individuals dying prematurely — that’s now historical past for my part and I believe we ought to be reassured that that is prone to proceed,” he stated.

Discussing the omicron variant, he added: “The illness does seem like much less extreme, and many individuals spend a comparatively quick time in hospital. They do not want high-flow oxygen, common size of keep is seemingly three days.”

Kluge said Tuesday that mortality charges had remained steady and continued to be highest in nations with excessive Covid-19 incidence charges, mixed with decrease vaccination uptake.