In the epicenter of omicron, in South Africa, health authorities warn of the increase in reinfections caused by the new variant. A WHO delegation will analyze the data in the country. And it is that infections have skyrocketed in the last week, as have hospitalizations. To this is added another worrisome data: only 24% of the population is vaccinated with the complete schedule in South Africa.
Scientists focus on omicron’s ability to re-infect, at levels they had not seen before. Found in 74% of samples sequenced in November and they foresee that within two weeks the infections by covid will reach 45,000 daily.
In the last 24 hours, they have registered more than 8,600 cases. Since omicron was detected, the positivity rate is skyrocketing. It’s almost double than five days ago. But the truth is that it is impossible to know even if the relationship is direct with omicron or with another variant. What is a reality is that every time infections increase, hospitalizations also grow. The WHO is sending a delegation to the country to analyze the data ‘in situ’. However, South African scientists believe that the omicron variant is less severe.
Right now, South Africa is the hub of the world’s omicron. There, only 24% of the population is vaccinated. the problem is not the lack of vaccines precisely there, but the limited interest of the population for it. In a country where malaria is the true pandemic and where vaccines to combat it do not reach them, they do not understand that they have to be inoculated against the coronavirus.
Across the continent, the percentage of vaccinated does not reach 10% (8%) and infections have grown by 84% in the last week. But the travel ban with Africa is seen by the UN as an aggressive measure.
“Apartheid travel is unacceptable. Africa cannot be blamed for the immorally low level of vaccines available,” says its Secretary General António Guterres.
Along the same lines, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan has drawn attention to the fact that South Africa travel bans, which the European Union and other countries have imposed, “may hinder the investigation.” “We need the reagents and other laboratory components to move freely,” he stressed.
The director of Health Emergencies of the OMS, Michael Ryan, has also shared the same opinion as his peers: “Things can be done to reduce the risk of travel: departure tests, arrival tests, quarantines … There are many options that fall short of the general ban. There are contradictions in the travel bans. They do not affect the citizens of the country. Epidemiologically they do not make sense. Does the virus care about your passport? Does your nationality matter or if you are a resident in the country? We see countries in Africa without a single case of omicron with a travel ban and others where there is transmission that do not have a ban. It makes no sense from an epidemiological point of view. “
Ómicron is already in a score of countries
According to the data presented by the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the omicron variant has reached at least 23 countries in five of the six WHO regions, and they expect that figure to “increase” .
However, the top leader of the United Nations international health organization has not been surprised by the appearance of this new strain. “The WHO takes this development very seriously, and so should all countries. But it should come as no surprise. This is what viruses do. And is what this virus will continue to do, as long as we allow it to continue to spread“, has exposed.
In line, he has indicated that the world is already facing a “highly transmissible and dangerous” variant, the Delta, which currently accounts for almost all cases globally. “We have to use the tools we already have to prevent transmission and save Delta’s lives. And if we do, we will also prevent transmission and save omicron lives. But if countries and people don’t do what is necessary to stop the transmission of Delta, they will not stop omicron either, “he claimed.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
