THE director general of the World Health Organization has voiced concern that the blanket measures taken by some countries against the Omicron COVID variant may be an over-reaction considering that there are still more questions than answers about the severity of the new variant and its effect on vaccines.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said some countries were introducing blanket measures against the Omicron variant that may not be necessary and penalized African nations unfairly.

“I well understand the concern of all countries to protect their citizens against a variant that we don’t yet fully understand. But I am equally concerned that several Member States are introducing blunt, blanket measures that are not evidence-based or effective on their own, and which will only worsen inequities,” he said,

First reported in southern Africa a week ago, the variant has brought global alarm, led to travel bans, and highlighted the disparity between massive vaccination pushes in rich nations and sparse inoculation in the developing world. read more

The WHO’s Ethiopian head urged the 194 member states to stick to rational, proportional measures.

Tedros pointed out that there were still more questions than answers about Omicron’s severity and the effectiveness of vaccines.

“Once again, I thank Botswana and South Africa for detecting, sequencing and reporting this variant so rapidly. It is deeply concerning to me that those countries are now being penalized by others for doing the right thing,” he said.

No Omicron-linked deaths have yet been reported though the WHO has said it poses a high risk of infection surges.

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Lee Ann P. Ducusin