The World Health Organization (WHO) ‘retired’ five variants of Covid-19, which at some point caused more infections during the pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that since March 16 it will consider the alpha, beta, gamma, delta and omicron variants of Covid-19 as “previously in circulation”.
In other words, these variants are no longer of concern, and now the WHO will focus its study on new subvariants that emerged during the pandemic in 2022.
One of the omicron subvariants, XBB 1.5, considered one of the most contagious and currently one of the most present in cases of the pandemic, is now considered a “variant of interest”. While another five (BQ.1, BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB and XBF) become “variants under surveillance,” the WHO statement said. If any of them deserves greater monitoring and special prevention measures, it would become a “variant of concern”, as alpha or beta were at the time.
Not to be neglected, says the WHO The delta variant, first detected in India, was the predominant one until the end of 2021, in which the omicron (first found in analysis in South Africa) replaced it. The omicron, in addition to being more easily transmitted, develops new subvariants more quickly. And this omicron multiplication has created some confusion in monitoring the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes covid-19. The announced changes “do not imply that the circulation of omicron viruses has ceased to be a threat to public health,” the WHO clarified. And he stressed that the modification “is carried out to better identify new possible threats.” / Scoops ec