Turkish Tax News
Serhat AKTAŞ
16 December 2021Serhat AKTAŞ
1786READS

The World Doesn't Yet Have Access To All Of The Information On The Omicron Variant

International organizations continue to work on the Omicron variant. To acquire definitive answers to queries regarding the Omicron, we will have to wait a few more weeks.

There are 2,382 confirmed cases in 62 countries, according to data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on December 10. So far, 582 cases have been detected in 21 European countries. The following is a list of countries where the most cases have been seen thus far:

List of countries where the Omicron variant has been detectedNumber of cases

  1. England                    817
  2. South Africa              499
  3. Denmark                  154
  4. Norway                    109
  5. Canada                    80
  6. The United States     72
  7. France                     59

In many countries, it is expected to become the dominant variant

The Omicron variant (B.1.1.539) was detected on the African continent for the first time. The first case was reported in Botswana on November 9, even though the exact origin remains uncertain. The patient was identified as a passenger from West Africa.

Before the variant emerged, the daily number of cases in South Africa had fallen to as low as 300 by November. However, in December, the number of daily cases surpassed 22,000 for the first time. Wave 4 has been triggered in South Africa today by omicron, which has become the dominant variant. With the spread of the new variant, the daily case rate in Zimbabwe, one of Africa's countries, increased by 35%.

According to the World Health Organization, we will have to wait a bit longer for definitive data on the Omicron variant. For the time being, we know that the Omicron variant has three times the number of mutations as the delta variant and is more contagious. So it's too soon to say whether it's more dangerous than the delta. It is, however, predicted to be as infectious as the delta variant.

Omicron is expected to be the dominant variant after South Africa and England in many countries. The first studies on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) Omicron variant also show that it spreads faster than other variants.

Are vaccines work against the Omicron variant?

Two doses of vaccine are highly influential, according to Pfizer and BioNTech officials, but the third dose of vaccine may be required. The British Health Safety Agency has made similar points. According to the agency's data, the third dose of the vaccine raises the protection rate against the Omicron variant by 75%.

According to health officials, the most effective protection approach is to pay attention to mask and social distance until new data is obtained. Then, the booster dose becomes popular.

Fauci delivers a transparency announcement to countries

On the Omicron variant, Anthony Fauci, Director of the Center for Infectious Diseases of the US National Institute of Health, stated: "The data obtained by countries must be shared transparently."

South Africa fulfilled an essential responsibility by sharing the first data regarding the new variant with the World Health Organization without delay. We all know how much damage the delay in the first months of the pandemic caused globally. South Africa allowed other countries time to discuss the new variant's measures. However, due to rapid information sharing with the WHO, many countries, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom, have imposed restrictions on flights from Africa. Commercial activities with the countries of the region were suspended. According to Fauci, this might create a situation where countries cannot share accurate data. "Imposing bans on countries that share information that has economic consequences is a type of punishment. Unilateral measures may cause countries to hide data to avoid losses." he said.

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