omicron: Doubling of Omicron cases in 3 days in community transmission areas: WHO | India News

NEW DELHI: The Omicron variant is spreading with a doubling time of between 1.5 and 3 days in countries where community transmission is documented, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest update on the new strain, which also affects countries with high levels of population immunity.
“There is consistent evidence that Omicron has a substantial growth advantage over Delta. It spreads much faster than the Delta variant in countries where community transmission is documented, with a doubling time of between 1.5 and 3 days, ”the WHO technical note to member countries said. Saving Grace so far has been Omicron’s weakest virulence, although its spread underscores the need for measures such as masks, disinfection and avoidance of large gatherings as well as vaccination.
The U.N. health agency said it remains unclear to what extent the observed rapid growth rate can be attributed to immune evasion, increased intrinsic transmissibility, or a combination of the two. Preliminary data also suggests that there is a reduction in neutralizing titers against Omicron in those who have received a series of primary vaccinations or who have previously had SARS-CoV-2 infection, which may suggest a level of humoral immune breakout. Humoral immunity is the process of adaptive immunity manifested by the production of antibodies that develop in the bone marrow. The number of people infected with the Delta variant in the UK was doubling every 11 days, according to a study conducted by Imperial College London based on an analysis of swab tests carried out between May 20 and June 7 . data, it is likely that Omicron will overtake Delta where community transmission occurs, ”the latest WHO update said.

In India, as the total number of Covid-19 cases continues to fall below 10,000 for around 20 days, health officials have warned of complacency, highlighting examples from countries like the UK and the United Kingdom. France who are experiencing an increase fueled by Omicron despite a high vaccination rate and exposure to the Delta variant.
As of Friday, a total of 7,145 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded across the country. The number of active cases currently stands at 84,565 cases. This includes cases infected with Omicron, but Delta continues to be the dominant variant so far, officials say.
While some studies conducted in the UK show that the risk of re-infection with Omicron is higher than Delta and that there is no sign of a milder infection than Delta, the United Nations health agency has maintained that there are still limited data on the clinical severity of Omicron. “More data is needed to understand the severity profile and how severity is affected by vaccination and pre-existing immunity. Hospitalizations in the UK and South Africa continue to rise, and given the rapid increase in the number of cases, it is possible that many health systems will be quickly overwhelmed, ”the WHO said.
As of December 16, the Omicron variant has been identified in 89 countries across the six WHO regions.