World Health Organization declares new variant of concern named omicron | CBC News

Experts monitor variants of concern (VOCs) closely because they could spread more easily, may cause more severe illness, or because current vaccines may be less effective against them, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. 

It will take time to determine if any of those are happening, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, said. 

“It’s really important that we have good SARS-Cov-2 surveillance around the world, including better genomic sequencing because we want to be able to detect this variant where it is circulating,” Van Kerkhove said. 

“We understand that people are concerned,” she said, but emphasized that people can reduce their risk by continuing to physically distance, wear masks correctly, avoid crowded spaces, ensure they are in well-ventilated areas and getting vaccinated.

“These proven public health measures have never been more important.”

South African scientists detected around 100 cases of the new variant while they were doing genomic sequencing in the country’s most populated province, Gauteng.  

On Wednesday they informed the government that they were concerned about the variant’s large number of mutations, including to the spike protein, that could affect transmissibility. The South African government then reported it to the WHO. 

“This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning,” said a WHO statement issued after the meeting on Friday. 

“Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa.” 

New variant highlights importance of vaccination, experts say

Canadian health experts on Friday cautioned against alarm and said it would take time to assess the potential impact of the variant and that there’s no evidence that existing COVID-19 vaccines wouldn’t continue to be effective. 

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist in Toronto, urged Canadians to get vaccinated if they haven’t already. 

In addition, he said the discovery of a new variant shows the importance of ensuring everyone in the world has access to the vaccine, because variants originate among unvaccinated people.  

WATCH | Dr. Isaac Bogoch speaks about the new variant

Not enough known about emerging coronavirus variant, says specialist

There is not enough information yet about a new coronavirus variant, B.1.1.529, which was first identified in South Africa, said infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch. But he says travel restrictions are ‘probably not going to be that effective’ at stopping its global transmission. 5:30

“This virus can evolve in the absence of adequate levels of vaccination. It’s upsetting that it takes this to happen to get the point across,” Richard Lessells, a South Africa-based infectious disease expert, told Reuters.

Only 24 per cent of South Africa’s population had been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus research centre. The number of shots being given per day is also relatively low, at less than 130,000. That’s significantly below the government’s target of 300,000.

While the continent struggled initially to obtain sufficient doses, some countries, including South Africa, now have too much stock, with vaccine hesitancy and apathy slowing the inoculation campaign.

South Africa has been the country worst affected in Africa in terms of total reported COVID-19 cases and deaths, with nearly three million infections and more than 89,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. It had been experiencing a lull after a severe third wave of infections, until last week when new infections started to pick up.

Now that omicron has been designated a variant of concern, governments around the world are asked to “enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants” and report any initial cases or clusters to WHO, its statement said. 

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 evolves as it spreads, and many new variants, including those with worrying mutations, often just die out.

The omicron variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong in travellers from South Africa.

Omicron is the fifth coronavirus variant of concern named by the WHO. The other four are: alpha, beta, gamma and delta.  

There are two coronavirus variants of interest: lambda and mu.