Delta COVID-19 variant most transmissible so far – WHO
The World Health Organisation said, the delta variant of COVID-19 is the most transmissible variant so far.
The Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the virtual media briefing on COVID-19 that, globally, there is currently a lot of concern about the delta variant.
“As some countries ease public health and social measures, we are starting to see increase in transmission around the world.
“More cases mean more hospitalisations, further stretching health workers and health systems, which increases the risk of death.
“As we have said, new variants are expected and will continue to be reported , that’s what viruses do, they evolve – but we can prevent the emergence of variants by preventing transmission.
“It’s quite simple, more transmission, more variants. Less transmission, less variants, WHO said.
WHO also warned that the variant has been identified in at least 85 countries and is spreading among unvaccinated populations.
This makes it even more urgent that countries use all the tools at disposal to prevent transmission, the tailored and consistent use of public health and social measures, in combination with equitable vaccination.
This is why WHO has been saying for at least a year that vaccines must be distributed equitably, to protect health workers and the most vulnerable.
The UN agency assigned labels for those variants that are designated as Variants of Interest or Variants of Concern by WHO.
They include B.1.1.7, known in the UK as the Kent variant and around the world as the UK variant – but now labelled by the WHO as Alpha.
The B.1.617.2 variant, often known as the Indian variant, has been labelled Delta, while B.1.351, often referred to as the South African variant, has been named Beta.
The P.1 Brazilian variant has been labelled Gamma.
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