The World Health Organization’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan has said that the Omicron variant could displace Delta and become the dominant variant owing to its high transmissibility. However, she said that a different vaccine may not be needed. 

Swaminathan said that it was too early to say if Omicron is milder than other variants. She added that the Delta variant is currently responsible for 99% of global COVID-19 infections.

Scientists in the EU and Australia predict that Omicron may account for more infections compared to Delta within a few months, she said. Stating that Omicron was highly transmissible, she cited data from South Africa which shows that the number of cases there were doubling every day.

Swaminathan said that people must be prepared and cautious, but should not panic, as we’re in a different situation compared to a year ago… (ET Healthworld, December 4, 2021)