Insight Bureau: Describing the new COVID-19 variants as the “wild card”, a top World Health Organisation official has warned that Omicron will not be the last one and the possibility of other new variants is really high.
During a question and answer session live streamed on WHO’s social media platforms on Tuesday, WHO COVID-19 Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove said that the global health agency is tracking four different versions of Omicron.
“Omicron is the latest variant of concern. It will not be the last variant of concern that WHO will speak about. The next one, you know, that will come hopefully, it will take some time to get there. But with the level of intensity of spread, the possibility that we will have other variants is really high,” she said.
“So we need to ensure that we again, not only increase vaccination coverage, but we also take measures to reduce the spread,” she added.
Since the designation of B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern on November 26, 2021, several lineages have been identified. These include Pango lineages BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2 and BA.3, which are all being monitored by WHO under the umbrella of Omicron.