WHO expects an increase in deaths from Omicron

People queue up for Covid-19 booster jabs at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, on Tuesday

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that it expects an increase in the number of hospitalisations and fatalities related to the new Omicron coronavirus strain, reported Sputnik. "As case numbers linked to a variant of concern increase globally, we expect the number of hospitalized cases and even deaths to be reported," the WHO said in a statement.

The UN health agency also said that more information is needed to fully understand the clinical picture of those infected with Omicron and WHO encourages countries to contribute to the collection and sharing of hospitalized patient data through the WHO Covid-19 Clinical Data Platform, according to Sputnik.

A nurse fills a syringe with a Covid-19 vaccine at a Soweto hospital, South Africa, on Monday. Pics/AP

It comes as the WHO last week had shed light on features of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, including the extent to which it will spread, and the number of mutations in the newfound strain. The UN-health agency had suggested that a new variant could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic, but it's still too early to say for sure.

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, last week had highlighted "a consistent picture of the rapid increase in transmission" but added that the exact rate of increase relative to other variants remains difficult to quantify.

Pfizer's Covid pill results

Pfizer said Tuesday that its experimental Covid-19 pill appears effective against the omicron variant. The company said full results of its 2,250-person study confirmed the pill's promising early results against the virus: The drug reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89 per cent among high-risk adults when taken shortly after initial Covid-19 symptoms. A two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination also provides just 33 per cent protection against infection by the omicron variant, but 70 per cent protection against hospitalisation, according to large-scale analysis in South Africa released Tuesday.

People wait to be vaccinated at a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Ramsgate, England on Tuesday as the UK government urged all adults to protect themselves against the Omicron variant. Pic/AP

Person on Israeli PM's flight tests Covid positive

A person who was on Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's flight back from the United Arab Emirates has tested positive for Covid-19, the prime minister's office said on Tuesday. Bennett returned to Israel on Monday from a historic two-day trip to the Gulf Arab state, the first by an Israeli leader to the country, which recently normalised ties with Israel. He was in a three-day quarantine on Tuesday as per Health Ministry regulations, which require all returning travellers, even those vaccinated, to self-isolate.

US Air Force discharges 27 for refusing vaccine

The US Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said they were lower-ranking personnel.

5,33,736
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

26,94,68,311
Total no. of cases worldwide

53,04,248
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever