How to pronounce Omicron, the latest COVID variant? Details inside
Wondering how you should Omicron be pronounced? Here's everything you need to know.
FollowPractically two years into the Covid-19 epidemic, the globe rushed Friday to control a new coronavirus variation - B.1.1.529 - that might be even more destructive than the one that has spurred persistent waves of infection on nearly every continent. The variation was dubbed "omicron" by a World Health Organization panel. It was categorized as a dangerously transmissible virus. The dominant delta variety, which is still a scourge causing increased rates of disease and mortality in Europe and portions of the United States, is included in the same group. The exact dangers posed by Omicron are unknown.
However, according to the WHO, preliminary research shows that it has a higher risk of reinfection than other highly transmissible variations. This indicates that persons who contracted Covid-19 and recovered might be at risk of contracting it again. It may take weeks to determine whether existing immunizations are less effective against it.
As concern causes nations to impose more limits on international travel and vaccine manufacturers to panic, ordinary people are panicking, attempting to figure out what Omicron is. One question remains: how should Omicron be pronounced?
Also Read | Omicron COVID-19 variant poses ‘very high’ global risk, countries must prepare, warns WHO
According to Merriam Webster, one can be phonetically pronounced as 'o-mi-cron' with emphasis on the 'o,' and the other with the 'o' as an 'a' sound, as 'ä-m-krän'. Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, a World Health Organization expert, recently stated as much when reporting that the mutation was of concern. According to the New York Times, the British pronunciation is "OH-mee-kraan," as Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom said last week, or "OH-my-kraan".
The Omicron Covid variant, which is causing lockdowns and travel bans worldwide, may not be all bad news. According to sources, the mutation, initially reported to the World Health Organization from South Africa, supposedly reports "extremely mild" occurrences. The South African doctor who was among the first to suspect a distinct coronavirus strain among patients claimed on Sunday that the Omicron variant's symptoms were so far minor that they could be treated at home.
