According to Interfax, citing data from the World Health Organization (WHO), omicron spreads faster than the delta strain, even in countries with high herd immunity.
Data on the severity of this variant of the disease are still "limited", but in South Africa and the UK, the number of hospitalizations of patients with "omicron" continues to grow.
Scientists note that the “omicron” is easier to “break through” through the immune protection obtained during vaccination or after the transferred covid caused by other strains.
The WHO believes that the risk of a new strain is very high. The new strain is highly contagious. It can spread up to 70 times faster than Delta. As a result, health systems in a number of countries may not be able to withstand. Against the background of the complicated sanitary situation, the heads of some states have increased the restrictions. Thus, the Swiss authorities canceled the January Davos Economic Forum, explaining the decision by "uncertainty" associated with the situation with covid.
To date, the Omicron strain has already become dominant in the United States and Great Britain.