Coronavirus cases in Africa have increased by 54% in the past week, especially in the southern area. The WHO said this in a briefing on the progress of the pandemic on the continent, specifying that research is underway to understand if the surge is due to the Omicron variant. The vaccine situation is worrying given that only 7.5% of the population in Africa (102 million people) have received two doses of the anti-Covid drug
Early data indicate that the Omicron variant of Covid is as contagious as the Delta or not. The teacher said so Anne von Gottberg, from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa, in a WHO briefing on the situation on the African continent.
However, this new variant is causing more cases of reinfection than its predecessors. In fact, from the first analyzes it emerges that those who have already had Covid are not protected against Omicron.
The vaccines currently in use against Covid should continue to protect against serious diseases even in the case of the Omicron variant added Professor von Gottberg.
According to the forecasts ofEcdc, the Omicron variant is expected to account for more than half of all Covid infections in Europe within the next few months: this is what we read in a new report from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Preliminary data from South Africa on the Omicron variant “suggest it may have a substantial growth advantage over the Delta and, if so, mathematical models indicate that Omicron is expected to cause more than half of all SARS-CoV-2 infections in the Delta. EU / EEA within the next few months “. The cases of Omicron in Europe, recalls Ecdc, so far are 70 in 13 countries.
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