Scientists say it is too soon to tell if omicron is more or less virulent than delta or other variants.

Vaccine maker Modernas CEO said Monday that omicron does seem more infectious, but that it will be up to 6 weeks to figure out with any certainty whether it Is worse or not.

 

 

The WHO has four levels of classification for COVID variants, in ascending order:

The Omicron Covid variant is likely to spread further and poses a "very high" global risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

 

 

Fatigue was one of the main symptoms of Omicron. Other symptoms were a mild headache, body aches, and a scratchy throat.

Unlike the Delta variant, patients have so far not reported a loss of taste or smell. There was also no major drop in oxygen levels.

 

 

 

So far, there have only been a small number of cases reported around the world. It has been detected in several southern African countries as well as some in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong. There are possible cases in other countries, such as France.

 

But what worries scientists is how quickly the new variant can spread.

 

The first case was detected on November 9 and last week three-quarters of the cases registered in South Africa - about 3,000 after a period with very few infections - are due to this variant.

 

But the main unknown surrounding this variant is its multiple mutations. Some are worrisome, according to the WHO. This is mainly because of the risk of reinfection.