Omicron ‘dangerous’, especially for unvaccinated, says WHO

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A protester holds a banner at a rally against mandates for the vaccines for the coronavirus disease outside the New York State Capitol in Albany, New York, on January 5, 2022. Mike Segar, Reuters" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/reuters/01/12/20220112_health-coronavirus-usa-new-york.jpg"/><figcaption>A protester holds a banner at a rally against mandates for the vaccines for the coronavirus disease outside the New York State Capitol in Albany, New York, on January 5, 2022. <em>Mike Segar, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The omicron variant of COVID-19 is dangerous, and especially so for those who have not been vaccinated against the disease, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.</p><p>The WHO said the huge global spike in cases was being driven by omicron but insisted there should be no surrender to the variant of concern.</p><p>&quot;While omicron causes less severe disease than delta, it remains a dangerous virus, particularly for those who are unvaccinated,&quot; WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/97-ncr-areas-on-granular-lockdown-vs-covid-19">97 Metro Manila areas on granular lockdown as COVID-19 cases spike</a></li></ul><p>&quot;We mustn&#x27;t allow this virus a free ride or wave the white flag, especially when so many people around the remain unvaccinated.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/who-to-ph-reserve-confirmatory-testing-for-symptomatic-vulnerable">Confirmatory testing must be reserved for symptomatic, vulnerable group: WHO</a></li></ul><p>&quot;In Africa, over 85 percent of people are yet to receive a single dose of vaccine. We can&#x27;t end the acute phase of the pandemic unless we close this gap.&quot;</p><p>Tedros wanted every country to have 10 percent of their population vaccinated by the end of September 2021, 40 percent by the end of December, and 70 percent by mid-2022.</p><p>But 90 countries had still not reached 40 percent, 36 of them still short of the 10-percent mark, he said.</p><p>The &quot;overwhelming majority&quot; of people admitted to hospitals around the world were unvaccinated, he added.</p><p>While vaccines remain very effective at preventing death and severe COVID-19 disease, they do not fully prevent transmission, said Tedros.</p><p>&quot;More transmission means more hospitalizations, more deaths, more people off work — including teachers and health workers — and more risk of another variant emerging that is even more transmissible and more deadly than omicron.&quot;</p><p>Tedros said that the numbers of deaths worldwide had stabilized at around 50,000 per week.</p><p>&quot;Learning to live with this virus does not mean we can, or should, accept this number of deaths,&quot; he said.</p><p>WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan added: &quot;This is not the time to declare this is a welcome virus.&quot;</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1892276" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The WHO wanted every country to have 10% of their population vaccinated by the end of September 2021, but 90 countries had still not reached 40%.

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Omicron ‘dangerous’, especially for unvaccinated, says WHO

Omicron ‘dangerous’, especially for unvaccinated, says WHO

Agence France-Presse

Published Jan 13, 2022 02:14 AM PHT

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COVID 19

coronavirus

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