Prepare for surge, WHO cautions Asia-Pacific countries

Omicron could become dominant threat, but different vaccine may not be needed yet

MANILA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned Asia-Pacific countries to boost healthcare capacity and fully vaccinate their people to prepare for a surge in Covid-19 cases as the Omicron variant spreads globally despite travel curbs.

Despite shutting its borders to travel from high-risk southern African countries, Australia became the latest country to report community transmission of the new variant, a day after it was found locally in five US states.

Omicron started gaining a foothold in Asia last week, with cases reported in India, Japan,

Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. Many governments have tightened travel rules, but WHO’s warning to Asia-Pacific nations, a region of about 650 million people, stressed that border controls could only buy them time in keeping the virus out.

“People should not only rely on border measures,” WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, Takeshi Kasai, told a virtual media briefing.

“What is important is to prepare for these variants with potential high transmissibility. So far, the information available suggests we don’t have to change our approach.”

Meanwhile, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told the Reuters Next conference that the Omicron variant could become dominant because it is highly transmissible, but that a different vaccine may not be needed.

Swaminathan said it was too early to say whether Omicron is milder than other variants and cast doubt over its origin, saying it was far from certain it emerged in southern Africa.

“It is possible that it could become (the) dominant variant,” Swaminathan said. She added that it was, however, impossible to predict. The Delta variant now accounts for 99% of infections globally.

She also said people should not panic over the emergence of the Omicron variant, and said it was too early to say if vaccines would need to be reworked.

“We need to be prepared and cautious, not panic, because we’re in a different situation compared to a year ago.”

WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a United Nations briefing in Geneva that vaccine makers should prepare for the likelihood of adjusting their products.

Ugur Sahin, CEO of Germany’s BioNTech, which makes a Covid-19 vaccine with Pfizer, told Reuters the company should be able to adapt the shots relatively quickly.

Sahin also said current vaccines should continue to provide protection against severe disease, despite mutations.

“I believe in principle, at a certain time-point, we will need a new vaccine against this new variant. The question is how urgent it needs to be available,” Sahin said. – Reuters