Omicron Spreads Faster And Weakens Jabs: WHO! What are the details here! Find Below 👇

The Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the Delta strain and reduces vaccine efficacy but causes less severe symptoms according to early data, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Sunday.

The Delta variant, first identified in India earlier this year, is responsible for most of the world's coronavirus infections.

But South Africa's discovery of Omicron - which has numerous  mutations - last month prompted countries around the world to impose travel bans on southern African countries and reintroduce domestic restrictions to slow its spread.

The WHO said Omicron had spread to 63 countries as of 9 December. Faster transmission was noted in South Africa, where Delta is less prevalent, and in Britain, where Delta is the dominant strain.

But it stressed that a lack of data meant it could not say if Omicron's rate of transmission was because it was less prone to immune responses, higher transmissibility or a combination of both.

Early evidence suggests Omicron causes "a reduction in vaccine efficacy against infection and transmission", the WHO said in a technical brief.

"Given the current available data, it is likely that Omicron will outpace the Delta variant where community transmission occurs," it added.

Omicron infections have so far caused "mild" illness or asymptomatic cases, but the WHO said the data was insufficient to establish the variant's clinical severity.

South Africa reported Omicron to the WHO on 24 November. Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer/BioNTech last week said three doses of their jabs were still effective against Omicron.

Countries with sufficient vaccine supplies such as Britain and France have encouraged their populations to receive a third "booster" jab to fight Omicron.

 Trustable Source is here

 Top Headlines are here- 

* WHO Director-General urged governments to increase their focus on healthcare systems and stay on course towards universal health coverage, which the WHO defines as everyone getting access to health services they need without financial hardship.

*  South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa tests positive for coronavirus.

* European Center for Disease Prevention and Control says that as of the 12th of December, known omicron cases were 'either asymptomatic or mild', with no deaths reported so far, but that figures should still be assessed with 'caution'.

* Israel issues travel ban for UK, Belgium, and Denmark due to Omicron, meaning citizens are not allowed to travel there - BNO.

* SEOUL — The rush to open up has led to an unprecedented spike in hospitalizations and deaths that threaten to undo the progress the country has made so far in the pandemic.

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1526899/in-koreas-worst-surge-more-patients-die-waiting-for-hospital-beds#ixzz7EqK8IbXA 

* FDA says Pfizer has submitted its application for an emergency use authorization for the use of its vaccines for 5-11 years old. @MalayaNews

* The positivity rate in South Africa has been flattening and now declined for the past two days. Hospital admissions in the epicenter of the outbreak, the province, are stable.

*  The Netherlands is donating a total of over 7.5 million doses of one-shot J&J vaccine to the Philippines, the NTF Against COVID-19 says. 

* PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has issued an executive order (EO) instituting measures to ensure and accelerate the total electrification of the entire country as part of his administration's program to spread the benefits of economic growth to stakeholders at the grassroots level.