Vaccine efficiency reduced with Omicron Covid-19 variant: WHO

|Shiksha Dev|THE DEN|

A few news reports on Sunday reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the newer Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of SARS-CoV-2 is more transmissible and reduces vaccine efficiency compared to the Delta strain, though it causes less severe symptoms, according to early data. However, the global health body stated that it was unable to determine if it was higher because of a less prone immune response or because it was more transmissible or both at the same time due to a lack of data, according to AFP.

The WHO said in a technical brief that early evidence suggested the new Omicron variant was less effective against infection and transmission compared to the Delta version. It added, "Given the available data, Omicron may well surpass the Delta version in communities where transmission occurs."