WHO Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan Says Covid-19 Variant Omicron Is A Global Threat

WHO Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan Says Covid-19 Variant Omicron Is A Global Threat

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic took over India, it is only the last few months that have been more relaxed and a sort of a breather. But as they say, all good things come to an end, even this seems to be coming to an end. Why? Well, because now we have a variant of the Covid-19 virus that is threatening not only India but other countries as well. The fact that researchers and scientists do not know how deadly this variant can be, makes it even more threatening. In fact, WHO’s Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan believes that the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron may even act as a wake-up call for Indians.

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the Chief Scientist at WHO, says that it is very important to continue wearing masks and follow Covid restrictions since the emergence of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron has emerged as a new threat worldwide.

 

She believes that Omicron may act as a “wake-up call” for Indians. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, furthermore, stressed the importance of wearing masks and being vaccinated against Covid-19. 

According to her, masks have proven to be extremely effective – especially when indoors. In fact, the Chief Scientist said that masks are being called “vaccines in your pocket”. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan gave other advice that one can follow – like for adults to get vaccinated and avoid mass gatherings. She even suggested that wider genome sequencing and closely monitoring the unusual increase in Covid-19 cases will also help understand Omicron. 

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As per reports, WHO’s Chief Scientist believes that using the science-based strategy is the best way to battle Covid-19 variant Omicron. She also revealed that Omicron is much more easily transmissible compared to the other virus and so caution needs to be taken until there is more information available.

Since Omicron has a variety of mutations, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan states that vaccinations should continue being a priority for countries along with enforcing strict regulations for public places. WHO’s Chief Scientist was also against countries imposing travel bans since that did not stop Covid-19 from spreading. She said, “Travel bans should be temporary and reviewed often.”

If you’ve heard the news in the last few weeks, you’d know that the cases of Covid-19 are increasing again. And the fact that the researchers/scientists don’t know much about Omicron combined with increased cases, honestly, scares me. I often wonder how many more lives are we going to lose before we can control the situation. 

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Ritu Sanghvi

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