Omicron spreading at unprecedented rate: WHO

New Delhi: The Omicron variant is spreading at an unprecedented rate, the World Health Organisation has said.

WHO Director General Tedros A. Ghebreyesus said that a total of 77 countries have reported Omicron cases so far but the reality is that this variant is probably yet to be detected in some countries.

"Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. I need to be very clear: vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis. It's not vaccines instead of masks, distancing, ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well", said Ghebreyesus.

He said that there remains a vast gap in rates of Covid-19 vaccination between countries. "41 countries still have not been able to vaccinate 10 per cent of their populations. 98 countries have not reached 40 per cent. We also see significant inequities between population groups in the same country", said Dr Tedros.

Vaccines developed by US drugmakers Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson against Covid-19 have proved to be less effective against the new super mutant Omicron variant that has now spread to 77 countries.

The Omicron variant, harbouring up to 36 mutations in spike protein, is known to evade vaccine efficacy.

The study led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard and MIT tested blood from people who received the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines against a pseudovirus engineered to resemble the Omicron variant.

They included individuals that were both vaccinated recently or had recently taken booster doses, and also had prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The findings, posted on preprint Memedrxiv, meaning not peer-reviewed yet, showed that the neutralisation of Omicron was 'undetectable' in most vaccinated individuals.