The multiplication of Omicron cases around the world could increase the risk of the appearance of a new, more dangerous variant of Covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
Although the variant is spreading like wildfire around the world, it appears to be less pathogenic than initially feared and has raised hopes that the pandemic could be overcome.
But Catherine Smallwood, a WHO emergency officer, told AFP that skyrocketing infection rates could have the opposite effect.
“The more Omicron spreads, the more it is transmitted and the more it replicates, the more likely it is to generate a new variant.“, she clarified.”Currently Omicron is fatal, it can cause death […] Maybe a little less than Delta, but who can say what the next variant might generate?“
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“We are in a very dangerous phase, contamination rates are increasing very significantly in Western Europe, and the real impact of this is not yet clear.“said Catherine Smallwood.
And “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,” she continued.
“When the number of cases increases so significantly, it is likely that many more people with serious illnesses will end up in hospital or even die.“, did she say.