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Vaccine Effectiveness Against Severe Covid Drops Slightly: WHO

According to WHO, while the effectiveness of vaccines against severe Covid has fallen slightly, these are still important and contribute in preventing deaths

Vaccine Effectiveness Against Severe Covid Drops Slightly: WHO
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 should not be dismissed as "mild", said WHO
Highlights
  • Vaccine booster shots can play a role in curbing the spread of Covid: WHO
  • Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen previously: WHO
  • Omicron was first detected in South Africa, now reported by 77 countries

Geneva: COVID-19 vaccines appear to have become slightly less effective in preventing severe disease and death but do provide “significant protection”, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday (December 14). The Omicron variant first detected in South Africa and Hong Kong last month has now been reported by 77 countries and is probably present in most worldwide, but should not be dismissed as “mild”, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Also Read: WHO’s New Update On Omicron: “Highly Unlikely” To Fully Dodge Vaccine Protection

“Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant,” Dr Tedros told an online briefing. “Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems.”

Evolving evidence suggests a small decline in the effectiveness of vaccines against severe disease and death, and a decline in preventing mild disease or infection, he said without giving specifics.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine has been less effective in South Africa at keeping people infected with the virus out of hospital since the Omicron variant emerged last month, a real-world study published on Tuesday showed.

Mike Ryan, WHO’s emergencies director, said that the vaccines are not failing and do provide significant protection against severe disease and death.

The question is how much protection are the current vaccines that we are using, which are currently life-saving against all the variants, and to what extent do we lose any protection against severe illness and death against Omicron. The data is pointing towards there being significant protection.

Also Read: How Big Is The Threat Of The Omicron Variant Of Coronavirus?

Mr Ryan said the peak of this wave of infections remains “a number of weeks” away given the very rapid spread of the Omicron variant, which has outpaced the dominant global strain Delta.

Vaccine booster shots can play a role in curbing the spread of COVID-19 as long as people most in need of protection also get access to jabs, Tedros said.

It’s a question of prioritisation. The order matters. Giving boosters to groups at low risk of severe disease or death simply endangers the lives of those at high risk who are still waiting for their primary doses because of supply constraints, he said.

“On the other hand, giving additional doses to people at high risk can save more lives than giving primary doses to those at low risk,” he said.

Tedros noted that the emergence of Omicron had prompted some countries to roll out COVID-19 booster programmes for their entire adult populations, even while researchers lack evidence for the efficacy of boosters against this variant.

WHO is concerned that such programmes will repeat the vaccine hoarding we saw this year, and exacerbate inequity, he said.

Also Read: Uninterrupted Medical Oxygen Supply Critical To Tackle Covid, Says Centre

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ populationindigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollutionwaste managementplastic banmanual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.

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