Omicron spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant: WHO chief

"77 countries have now reported cases of Omicron, and the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn’t been detected yet. Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing.

"We’re concerned that people are dismissing Omicron as mild. Surely, we have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril. Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems," Ghebreyesus said.

The WHO chief noted that vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis.

He said countries can and must prevent the spread of Omicron with measures that work today. "Vaccines are tools that have the greatest impact when they are used to protect those who are most at risk, in all countries," he said.

Most countries are using COVID19 vaccines as fast as they get them.

"A small group of countries are facing challenges rolling out vaccines and scaling up rapidly, and WHO and our partners are working closely with those countries to overcome bottlenecks," Ghebreyesus said.

The emergence of Omicron has prompted some countries to roll out COVID19 booster programmes for their entire adult populations, the WHO chief said and added: "even while we lack evidence for the effectiveness of boosters against this variant".

"WHO is concerned that such programmes will repeat the COVID19 vaccine hoarding we saw this year and exacerbate inequity. It’s clear that as we move forward, boosters could play an important role, esp. for those at highest risk of severe disease death," he said.

"Let me be very clear: WHO is not against boosters. We're against inequity. Our main concern is to save lives everywhere," Tedros Ghebreyesus said.

"It's a question of prioritisation," he said.

"The order matters. Giving boosters to groups at low risk of severe disease or death simply endangers the lives of those at high risk who are still waiting for their primary doses because of supply constraints," the WHO chief added.