Two years since the start of the pandemic, unfortunately we continue to face the different variants of COVID-19, such as Omicron , which has considerably increased the transmissibility of the virus. So much so that this variant has already become the most present in the world, accounting for almost 60% of global cases.
This has been determined by the analyzes carried out by the global network of GISAID laboratories , which after the more than 357,000 samples collected during the last 30 days, have detected a presence of 208,000 infections of the Omicron variant. In this way, what until two weeks ago was only focused on 1.6% of global cases analyzed in laboratories, is already present in 58.5% of these , surpassing the Delta variant to become the dominant strain worldwide, as has already been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO).
For its part, in Spain Ómicron has triggered the contagion of coronavirus with an incidence that, for the first time in the entire course of the pandemic, has exceeded 3,000 points . This Tuesday, the latest balance of Health data reported a total of 134,942 positives, rising to 7,592,242 people since the health crisis broke out.
Although on the one hand it is partially positive news, given that it is a less dangerous variant than the Delta, the report highlights that the Ómicron variant is capable of “evading immunity” , there is a risk of transmission between those vaccinated and people who had previously overcome the disease and had developed antibodies. However, the WHO has highlighted that the health risks presented by this variant are still very high, since it can lead to an increase in hospitalizations and deaths in vulnerable populations.
On the other hand, a technical body of the World Health Organization stated on Tuesday that the current vaccines against Covid-19 may need to be reworked to guarantee their efficacy against Omicron and future variants of the coronavirus . The technical group, made up of independent experts, said it would consider a change in the composition of the vaccine and stressed that injections should be more effective to protect against infection.
However, the statement fell short of advocating a specific vaccine for Omicron at this time , saying more research was needed and urging manufacturers to share the data.
Currently it is estimated that the 2 million cases have been exceeded in several days , and a spike in infections has not yet been confirmed, which continue in an increasing trend due to Omicron. Figures that the WHO itself recognizes could be much higher in reality, with still many infections diagnosed with home tests and not reported.
For our part, we take this opportunity to make an appeal to civility , encouraging you to continue to comply with the recommended measures for your locations and to stay protected while we continue to fight to regain normalcy.