COVID-19 Omicron Variant Warning: WHO Chief Warns Global 'Increase in Deaths,' US Death Toll on the Rise

Since the Omicron variant was first identified 10 weeks ago, 90 million COVID-19 cases had been recorded, which is more than the number of cases in the entire year 2020, the World Health Organization's chief stated on Tuesday.

Omicron should not be underestimated even if it has been proven to cause less severe disease than earlier forms and highlighted "a very disturbing increase in mortality in most parts of the world" with several governments reducing their restrictive restrictions under public outrage.

WHO sounds alarmed about Omicron variant

According to the World Health Organization, mortality rates are rising in four of its six global regions. Britain, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands, among other European countries, have begun to relax their lockdown restrictions. This month, Finland will lift its COVID-19 ban.

Even though the country of 5.8 million population has seen more than 50,000 new cases a day in recent weeks, the number of patients in intensive care units has decreased. The government of Denmark scrapped most of the measures put in place to combat the pandemic on Tuesday, saying it no longer considers COVID-19 "a socially critical disease."

The WHO's emergency chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said countries with higher vaccination rates "have more options" when it comes to easing restrictions, but they should consider factors such as current epidemiology, at-risk populations, population immunity, and access to healthcare tools to combat the pandemic.

"Political pressure may result in individuals in some nations opening prematurely, and it will result in needless transmission, serious sickness, and death," Ryan voiced worry.

A group of experts set up last year to investigate the emergence of new pathogens and assess their origins is expected to issue a report in the coming weeks, according to Van Kerkhove, who said the group, known by the acronym SAGO, has met about a half-dozen times since its first meeting in late November.

Among other things, she said the group would look at early epidemiological studies and "our current understanding of the origins of this particular pandemic, building upon previous missions that have gone to China and worked with Chinese scientists," as well as the work of another WHO-led team that traveled to China and reported on the pandemic in March of last year, she said, Associated Press via MSN reported.

In the United States, the death toll from COVID-19 had risen to more than 2,400 a day on average over the preceding seven days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Because areas with lower vaccination rates were affected later by Omicron and haven't yet seen the full brunt of the variation, Jennifer Nuzzo, chief of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Resource Center, said COVID-19 mortality may climb even more.

The last time COVID-19 fatalities in the United States were this high, vaccines weren't readily accessible. The vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna didn't obtain emergency permission until December 2020. By this time last year, just 28 million COVID-19 injections had been given out, with 4.7 million individuals receiving a second dosage. Nearly 250 million Americans have received at least one shot as of Monday, with more than 88 million receiving both main and booster doses.

Vaccines have at least kept serious sickness and mortality from rising at the same rate as infections in recent years. Although just one-quarter of Americans have received a single vaccination, many are still at risk. According to Dr. Scott Braithwaite, a professor of public health and medicine at NYU Langone Health, states that have not yet peaked in infections are anticipated to do so over the next two weeks, with peak mortality following around two weeks after, as per CNBC.

Omicron has four different strains

Omicron has now four strains circulating all over the world, according to WHO. Since its discovery late last year, the mutant variation has evolved into a variety of distinct lineages.

Delta divided into more than 200 sub-variants before Omicron overcame it, which is not surprising because it is a normal pattern for viral strains. The majority of the strains are so identical to the original that they have little effect on the severity or immunity of the disease.

Health experts have frequently said that COVID-19 booster shots protect against Omicron and provide the best chance of surviving the epidemic. B.1.1.529 is the first known form of Omicron, and it was named a variation of concern by the WHO. BA.1 became hyper transmissible, spreading to 171 nations and generating a backlash against liberties in many areas as a result of this. In the Omicron classification, BA.2 and BA.3 have now been logged as new sub-variants, according to The Sun.