Omicron could generate more dangerous variants, WHO warns

The multiplication of cases of Omicron in the world could increase the risk of appearance of a new more dangerous variant of the coronavirus, warned Tuesday the World Health Organization (WHO).

Although the variant is spreading like wildfire around the world, it appears to be less pathogenic than initially feared and has been made hope that the pandemic could be overcome.

But soaring infection rates could have the opposite effect, warned Catherine Smallwood, responsible for emergency situations at the WHO.

“More Omicron spreads, the more it is transmitted and the more it replicates, the more likely it is to generate a new variant, ”she explained.

“We are in a very dangerous phase, the rates of contamination are increasing very significantly in Western Europe, and the real impact of this is not yet clear, ”she argued.

According to her, while “at the individual level the risk of hospitalization is probably lower” with the Omicron variant than with Delta, overall Omicron could pose a greater threat due to the number of cases.

WR