Explained: Why are experts concerned about Omicron?

Omicron may be less severe than Delta, but it is still a dangerous virus, World Health Organisation's Covid Technical Head Maria Van Kerkhove has said while reiterating that people who are infected with the new strain of the virus have the full spectrum of the disease. 

In an awareness video released by the World Health Organisation, the WHO Epidemiologist warned that people with underlying conditions, people with advanced age and those who are unvaccinated can have a severe form of Covid-19 after being infected from Omicron variant.

Stating that Omicron is overtaking Delta in terms of circulation, Kerkhove said the variant is very efficiently transmitted between people. But that did not mean that everybody will eventually get Omicron, she added.

But part of the reason that people should take the Omicron threat seriously, according to Kerkhove is that across the world scientists still do not completely understand the impact of post-Covid conditions. That aside, the more the virus circulates, the more opportunities it has to change. Asserting that the threat of newer variants was very much real, the WHO official said, adding that these variants could be more transmissible and could have properties of immune escape.

Physical distancing, wearing of well-knitted mask over the nose and mouth, making sure to have clean hands, avoiding crowds, working from home, getting tested and making sure that appropriate care is taken where needed can protect an individual from getting infected or passing the virus to others. she said.