Wrong information: WHO lists 3 misleading facts leading to Omicron surge
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The WHO's top official emphasised the need of vaccination, saying that COVID-19 vaccinations are still very efficient at preventing serious sickness and death, particularly against Omicron.
Since Omicron BA.2 is producing an unprecedented number of COVID infections around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that there are certain "misinformations" circulating about the virus that are causing widespread misunderstanding.
The warning comes after global new infections increased by 8% last week compared to the prior week.
WHO's COVID-19 Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove pointed out earlier this week that there is a lot of misinformation out there.
"We have huge amounts of misinformation that's out there. The misinformation that Omicron is mild. Misinformation that the pandemic is over. Misinformation that this is the last variant that we will have to deal with. This is really causing a lot of confusion," Kerkhove said.
Meanwhile, noting that the virus has not ‘settled down’ into a purely seasonal or predictable pattern yet, WHO's Mike Ryan, "it’s moving around easily and in the context of waning immunity and vaccines not acting perfectly against infection, the virus will likely continue to echo around the world."
"This is how viruses work. They establish themselves in a community, and they will move quickly to the next community that’s unprotected."
COVID-19 vaccines remain incredibly effective at preventing severe disease and death, including against Omicron @mvankerkhove pic.twitter.com/tXs8LU5Esz
— Cleavon MD 💉 💉 💉 (@Cleavon_MD) March 18, 2022
COVID infection increased by 8%
According to WHO's weekly report on the pandemic, there were more over 11 million new COVID-19 infections and 43,000 new deaths last week, an increase of roughly 8%.
For the previous three weeks, the number of COVID-19 deaths has been decreasing globally.
(With inputs from agencies)