The WHO chief made the remarks on Feb 18 at a panel discussion titled "Get Well Soon: Finding a Way Out of the Pandemic" during the ongoing Munich Security Conference, reports Xinhua news agency.
Many countries which reported an early rise in the number of cases due to the omicron variant have now reported a decline in the total number of new cases since the beginning of January 2022.
WHO Director General Tedros reiterated his concern over the narrative taking hold in some countries that "because of vaccines, and because of Omicron's high transmissibility and lower severity, preventing transmission is no longer possible and no longer necessary."
TMC MP Santanu Sen has alleged that a part on India's map on WHO's website showed data related to Pakistan, while the other portion showed data related to China.
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes Covid-19, has mutated and resulted in different variants of the virus, including the latest Omicron. The Delta strain is regarded as the most contagious form of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to date. The new variant NeoCoV has been discovered among bats in South Africa.
WHO Europe director said that they anticipate that there will be a period of quiet before Covid-19 may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back.
On Sunday, WHO had said that Omicron is soon set to replace Delta globally as a result of its immunity evading potential.
In a letter to states and UTs, Additional Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Arti Ahuja advised them to pay attention to this aspect immediately and increase the testing in a strategic manner keeping in view the trend of case positivity in specific areas.
The WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) said that as coronavirus evolves, the composition of current COVID-19 vaccines may need to be updated.
As part of our ongoing humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, India supplied the third batch of medical assistance consisting of two tons of essential lifesaving medicines to Afghanistan today," said the Ministry of External Affairs press release.
During a press briefing, the head of global health body said that at present, 109 countries would miss out on fully vaccinating 70 pc of their populations by the start of July 2022.
The strain is also known as the 'IHU' variant because it was first identified by academics at the IHU Mediterranee Infection institute in Marseille, France, reports Xinhua news agency.
First reported last month in southern Africa, Omicron is already the dominant variant in the United States and parts of Europe.
Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it should also be the year "all countries invest in preventing a future disaster on this scale".
"Cases have continued to increase in South Africa, with a smaller but clear rise in hospitalizations.
The hyper mutated Omicron variant of concern has spread so far to about 90 countries, raising serious concerns about the reduced vaccine efficacy and the increased risk of reinfection.
While a few regional countries are facing surges, COVID-19 cases and deaths in many others have decreased and plateaued, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Dr. Takeshi Kasai told reporters Friday in a virtual news conference broadcast from Manila, Philippines.
WHO’s Africa director Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said on Thursday that countries “must adjust their COVID-19 response and stop a surge in cases from sweeping across Africa and possibly overwhelming already-stretched health facilities.”
"Globally, we have a toxic mix of low vaccine coverage, and very low testing - a recipe for breeding and amplifying variants. That's why we continue to urge countries to fully fund the ACT Accelerator, to ensure equitable access to vaccine, tests and therapeutics all over the world," Tedros said.
'Omicron' became a conversational piece on social media, with many users across the world questioning the WHO's choices, and debating over reasons behind the decision on skipping 'Nu' and 'Xi'.
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