New Delhi: After the confirmation of a new Omicron form of COVID-19 in seven countries of the Southeast Asia region, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday expressed the need to urgently increase public health facilities and social measures to prevent its spread. Insisted.
Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of the WHO South-East Asia Region, said that countries can prevent the spread of Omicron with concrete health and social measures. “Our focus should remain on protecting those most at risk,” he said in a statement. How contagious is the Omicron form compared to other forms.
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“So far we know that Omicron appears to spread more rapidly than the delta pattern,” Singh said. Due to the delta form, cases of infection have increased worldwide in the last several months. However, the available data on serious illness from Omicron is limited.
“We are likely to get more information in the coming weeks,” the WHO official said. Omicron should not be taken lightly. He said that even if it does not make the more seriously ill, the large number of cases can once again burden the health system.
Therefore, there is a need to review the health care capacity including ICU beds, oxygen availability, adequate health care personnel and strengthen it at all levels, he said. “We should continue to do this,” Singh said. Protect yourself and protect each other. Take a dose of vaccine, wear a mask, keep your distance, keep windows open, keep your hands clean, and cough and sneeze safely. Even after taking the dose of vaccine, everyone kept taking precautions.
Regarding the impact of the new variant on vaccines, he said preliminary data suggests that vaccines against the Omicron variant may have a reduced effectiveness. He said, “Vaccines are an important tool in our fight against the pandemic but as we know, no country can come out of this pandemic with vaccines alone. We need to increase immunization and also implement public health and social measures, which have proven to be important in limiting the spread of COVID-19 and reducing deaths.” (agency)