The World Health Organisation (WHO) has once again, spoken about the Omicron coronavirus variant, as it advises unvaccinated and vulnerable people across the world against travelling.
WHO had on Tuesday evening advised against people at risk and not vaccinated to travel, while deeming unnecessary the bans on the matter taken by many countries which “will not prevent” the spread of the new variant of the Omicron coronavirus.
“General travel bans will not prevent the spread” of this variant that worries the planet, said the WHO in a technical document, however, recommending that “people who are not in good health or who are at risk of developing a form serious “of the Covid-19 to give up their travel plans.
Faced with what looks like panic, the head of this UN institution, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had already called for “calm” on Tuesday and asked countries for a “rational” and “proportional” response.
Understanding “the concern of all countries to protect their citizens”, he also expressed “concern that several member states are taking general and brutal measures which are neither evidence-based nor effective in themselves and which are not will only worsen inequalities “between countries.
Measures which “may have a negative impact”
Since Johannesburg reported the appearance of this new variant last week, many states have closed their borders to South Africa and its neighbours, sparking anger in the region. These measures “can have a negative impact on global health efforts during a pandemic by discouraging countries from reporting and sharing epidemiological and sequencing data,” the WHO warned.
According to the report by AFP, at a time when the world is wondering about the answer to be given to this variant with multiple mutations, the leader of the vaccine manufacturer Moderna, Stéphane Bancel, predicted in an interview with the Financial Times a “significant drop” in efficacy. current serums.
According to him, it will take several months to develop a new one. “All the scientists I have spoken to (…) say ‘This is not going to do it’,” he says.
Various manufacturers, including Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer / BioNTech and Novavax, have nevertheless expressed confidence in their ability to create a new vaccine against Covid-19. Russia has also announced that it is working on a version of its Sputnik V specifically targeting Omicron. The Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 5,206,370 people since its appearance at the end of 2019 in China, according to an AFP count.
Europe, the continent most affected by this 5th wave
Originally reported in South Africa, this new strain has been spotted on every continent, but Europe, facing a new wave, appears to be the continent most affected.
In addition to travel suspensions, many states have instituted preventive measures and, for the wealthiest, urged their populations to be injected with a booster dose. Long considered a good student in Europe, but overwhelmed by an outbreak of infections, Germany on Tuesday rolled out compulsory vaccination, which will be the subject of a law submitted to Parliament before the end of the year.
Nigeria Already Confirmed First Cases Of Omicron Coronavirus Variant:
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced that the first cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been recorded in the country.
NCDC Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, stated this in a press statement issued on Wednesday.
The health agency said the three cases of the variant were discovered through genomic sequencing, linking the cases to three passengers from South Africa.
“This genomic surveillance has now identified and confirmed Nigeria’s first cases of the B.1.1.529 SARS-CoV-2 lineage, now known as the Omicron variant,” the statement read.
“Samples obtained for the stipulated day two test for all travellers to Nigeria were positive for this variant in three persons with a history of travel to South Africa.
“These cases were recent arrivals in the country in the past week. Follow up to ensure isolation, linkage to clinical care, contact tracing and other relevant response activities have commenced.
Arrangements are also being made to notify country where travel originated according to the provisions of the International Health Regulations.”
Also, Canada had announced that it discovered two cases of the variant from two passengers from Nigeria.