Page 15 - World Health Organization

Omicron 'dangerous' virus for unvaccinated people, warns WHO chief

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is a "dangerous virus" particularly for those who are unvaccinated, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday."While Omicron causes less severe disease than Delta, it remains a dangerous virus, particularly for those who are unvaccinated," Tedros said during a media briefing on COVID-19.This huge spike in infections is being driven by the Omicron variant, which is rapidly replacing Delta in almost all countries, he said.WHO chief also highlighted Africa's COVID-19 vaccination rate and said "in Africa, more than 85 per cent of people are yet to receive a single dose of vaccine. We cannot end the acute phase of the pandemic unless we close this gap.""We are making progress. In December, COVAX shipped more than double the number of doses it shipped in November, and in the coming days, we expect COVAX to ship its 1 billionth vaccine dose," he stated.He further stated that some of the supply constraints we .

New Covid-19 variant detected in France not a threat yet, says WHO

The new Covid-19 variant called B.1.640 has so far been identified in less than 1 per cent of the samples sequenced in France, the World Health Organization (WHO) said

Omicron variant of Covid-19 may be less severe, but not 'mild': WHO

During a press briefing, the head of global health body said that at present, 109 countries would miss out on fully vaccinating 70 per cent of their populations by the start of July 2022

Confident that Covid will end in 2022, says WHO chief amid Omicron scare

The World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that he is optimistic that the Covid-19 pandemic will be defeated in 2022, provided countries work together to contain its spread.

LIVE: Mumbai sees over 3,600 new Covid cases in a day; over 1,300 in Delhi

Mumbai posts 46% jump in daily cases; Delhi passes 1,000-mark after 7 months

LIVE: Kerala sees 9 more Omicron cases, 4 in Jaipur; India's tally now 226

Meanwhile, Haryana decides to allow only fully vaccinated people at public places; Delhi bans gatherings for Christmas, New Year celebrations

WHO stresses on taking all measures to prevent further spread of Omicron

As the world witnesses the new coronavirus variant Omicron, WHO on Saturday emphasized an urgent scale-up of public health and social measures to curtail its further spread.

World cannot defeat pandemic in uncoordinated way: Antonio Guterres

Arguing that the world "cannot defeat a pandemic in an uncoordinated way", UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.

China's Sinovac booster shot is 94% efficient against Omicron: Company

Sinovac claimed that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine is 94 per cent effective against the Omicron variant.

Covid vaccines may be less effective against Omicron variant: WHO

The WHO, in its weekly epidemiological update, said that more data was needed to better understand the extent to which Omicron may evade immunity derived from either vaccines or previous infection

Covid: Mask usage declining, we're operating at a risky level, warns govt

Dr V K Paul, Member-Health of NITI Aayog, on Friday expressed concern over the decline in the use of face masks in the country

Covid: WHO warns fears of Omicron could spark new vaccine hoarding

The WHO expressed concerns Thursday that rich countries spooked by the emergence of the omicron variant could step up the hoarding of COVID-19 vaccines and strain global supplies again

Top headlines: Farmers call off protest; WHO advisory on booster shots

Business Standard brings you the top stories on Thursday

Scientist who first sequenced Omicron variant worried by speed of change

Velocity of mutations adds to the puzzle of how transmissible the variant may be, says South Africa's Sikhulile Moyo.

Prepare for Omicron variant surge, WHO warns Asia-Pacific nations

The WHO on Friday warned that countries in the Asia-Pacific region need to strengthen healthcare services and focus on vaccinating their people, as the Omicron variant enters new regions

WHO deploys team in South Africa to tackle Omicron Covid variant

Omicron, which was first identified in South Africa exactly a week ago, now has been detected in at least 24 countries around the world, according to the WHO

US and other nations harden travel rules over Omicron, EU urges vaccination

Some 56 countries were reportedly implementing travel measures to guard against Omicron as of Nov 28

WHO expects to have more information on Omicron transmission 'within days'

That was faster than the "weeks" the WHO had predicted last week that it would take to assess the data available on the variant after designating it a "variant of concern"

New Covid variant poses 'very high' risk: World Health Organization

Many of us might think we are done with COVID-19. It's not done with us, warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Explained: What we know and don't know about Omicron variant of Covid-19

The WHO says it could still take some time to get a full picture of the threat posed by omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus as scientists worldwide scramble to assess its multiple mutations