Omicron variant no more severe than original strain -WHO

The World Health Organisation -WHO, on Tuesday said that, the BA.2 variant of the Omicron coronavirus strain is not more severe than the original.

According to the sample of people from various countries, “we are not seeing a difference in the severity of BA.1 compared to BA.2,” Maria Van Kerkhove, a senior WHO official, said in an online question and answer session.”

“So this is a similar level of severity as it relates to the risk of hospitalisation. And this is really important because, in many countries, they’ve had a substantial amount of circulation, both of BA.1 and BA.2,” she said.

Van Kerkhove, who leads the technical side of the WHO’s COVID-19 response team, was reporting the findings of a committee of experts tracking the evolution of the virus.

Their conclusions will come as a relief to countries such as Denmark, where the BA.2 variant of Omicron has circulated widely.

Okwuego/PHW