The World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan addressed the media on the Omicron variant on Wednesday. She said it appears that the vaccines are still proving to be effective against the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron.
She explained that though the number of infections is rapidly increasing, the severity of the disease has not surged to a new level. Furthermore, she said that the evidence on Omicron is just emerging and it is premature to conclude.
Dr. Soumya added that all of the lab studies are pointing towards a reduction in neutralization capacity. Also that it is clinically seen that people who have been vaccinated, and people who had prior infections, are still getting breakthrough infections with the new variant.
Furthermore, she stressed that the new variant is infecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. As a result of this, she urged everyone to get the jab against Covid-19.
