The World Health Organization has designated the risk from the omicron variant of COVID-19 as “very high” but maintains there is “considerable uncertainty” around this classification.
The health arm of the United Nations said in a technical brief for member states on Sunday that the variant’s mutations could make it likelier to transmit despite precautions. It also said that “preliminary evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of reinfection” and that “the likelihood of potential further spread of Omicron at the global level is high.”
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“Overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron is thus considered very high,” the WHO said. “The evidence for this assessment contains considerable uncertainty and will be updated as more information becomes available.”
Authorities should continue to push vaccination, masking, and social distancing as preventive measures against the omicron variant, the WHO said. The organization also directed countries with the capacity to study the variant as quickly as possible for a more accurate risk assessment.
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The variant was first discovered in South Africa last week and was designated a “variant of concern.” The United States restricted travel from several African countries, while Japan and Israel closed their borders. No cases have yet been reported in the U.S.
“We don’t know very much about this yet,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, said Thursday. “What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations. And the concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves.”
