“So huge and fast”: WHO speaks of an omicron “tidal wave” - warning of fatal booster failure

Created: 01/08/2022, 06:26 AM

From: Franziska Schwarz

A kidney infected by Omikron under the electron microscope: the colored rectangle marks cell damage.

© DPT OF MICROBIOLOGY HKU / LPN / Imago

So far, researchers have found rather mild disease courses at Omikron.

But what does "mild" mean?

Experts strongly advise against carelessness.

The news ticker.

• There are only a few studies on Omikron, but it is clear that it is highly infectious.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is now warning against underestimating the Corona * mutation * (see first report).

• Brazil reports its first Omicron fatality (see update from January 7th, 9.45pm).

• The Omikron news ticker in Germany * and worldwide is continuously updated.

Update from January 7th, 9.45 p.m.:

Omikron is also increasing the corona numbers in South America.

Argentina has registered more than 100,000 corona infections within one day for the first time.

109,608 new cases in 24 hours were reported as of Thursday (local time), according to the South American country's Ministry of Health.

Just a few days ago, the record high in the country of 45 million people was 50,506 new cases on December 30th.

81,210 new cases were reported on Tuesday and 95,159 on Wednesday.

“Omikron brings us a lot of surprises. We do not know where the upper limit for the increase will be, ”Sonia Tarragona, head of cabinet at the Ministry of Health, told

newspaper . The record value coincides with the summer vacation in the southern hemisphere. Thousands of people traveled around the country for Christmas and New Year's Eve, and major tourist centers are bustling with activity. Restrictions still apply in only a few provinces.

The first death from the Omikron variant has now been recorded in Brazil.

The Ministry of Health confirmed corresponding media reports to the German Press Agency on Friday.

Accordingly, the 68-year-old victim suffered from previous illnesses.

The man was reportedly vaccinated against the coronavirus three times.

Most recently, the number of new infections rose again in Brazil.

Omikron: Netherlands report new corona record

Update from January 7th, 6:25 p.m.:

In the Netherlands, a new record was set for the number of new infections every day. The responsible health institute RIVM announced on Friday that almost 35,000 new corona cases had been registered. That is around 10,000 more than the day before. Never before has the mark of 25,000 new infections been exceeded in one day in the Netherlands.

Despite the tough lockdown, the number of infections has increased significantly for a week.

The reason given is the rapid spread of omicrons.

The variant is already dominant in the Netherlands.

The extremely high number on Friday is partly explained by a technical malfunction the day before.

But even on a weekly average, the authorities registered a significant increase in positive tests - by 63 percent compared to the previous week.

Experts anticipate that the number of patients in hospitals will soon increase significantly.

The government plans to decide at the end of next week whether the lockdown should continue or be relaxed.

Omikron: Soldiers help in British hospitals

Update from January 7th, 4.30 p.m.:

Because of the staff shortages caused by the Omikron wave, the army has been helping out in hospitals in London since Friday. As the Ministry of Defense announced, 200 military personnel are to be deployed in the British capital over the next three weeks. In addition, 32 soldiers are to help out in the rescue service. Military personnel are also deployed in other parts of the country to support the authorities in dealing with the corona pandemic. In Scotland, around 600 probation officers and special forces will be deployed to the police as of Monday (10 January).

Britain is still firmly in the grip of the omicron wave - even as experts see signs of a flattening in London.

On Thursday, almost 180,000 new infections were reported across the country.

The seven-day incidence is given as around 1800.

The government has so far rejected stricter restrictions, citing the relatively low number of hospital admissions and deaths.

However, the British healthcare system is coming under increasing pressure due to the high number of staff absent due to illness.

According to the PA news agency, 17 hospital owners in England alone had declared an emergency by Friday because they were afraid that they would no longer be able to guarantee important treatments.

"So huge and fast": WHO speaks of the omicron "tidal wave"

First report from January 7th:

Geneva - Omikron is particularly infectious.

The rapid spread of the Corona variant - also in Germany - proves it.

At the same time, experts assume that the pathogen causes a comparatively mild course of the disease.

So a reason to breathe a sigh of relief?

The World Health Organization (WHO) disagrees.

"Just like previous variants, people have to be hospitalized for Omicron, and it kills people," said WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on January 6th.

Even if the new virus mutation * is apparently less severe than the previously prevalent Delta variant, Omikron should therefore not be classified as "mild".

Omikron: WHO reports record high in corona infections

The "tidal wave" of new infections * from the Omikron variant is "so huge and fast" that it is overloading the health system worldwide, warned Tedros.

According to the WHO, almost 9.5 million new corona infections were reported worldwide in the first week of January.

That is 71 percent more than in the previous week - and a new high.

The WHO chief again denounced the actions of rich countries that had used a large part of the available corona vaccine doses for themselves.

Such action creates an ideal breeding ground for the emergence of new virus variants in countries with poor access to vaccination doses, warned Tedros and sees this as a fatal error.

Worldwide vaccination campaign: only a few countries can boost boosters

He therefore again called for a fair distribution of the vaccines.

"One booster vaccination * after another in a small number of countries will not end a pandemic * if billions of people are left completely unprotected," he said.

WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove emphasized that it was "very unlikely" that Omikron would be the last variant before the end of the pandemic.

She therefore called on people to follow the hygiene measures better: “Do everything we advise you to do better, more comprehensively and more specifically.”