'Omicron is NOT common cold': WHO COVID-19 technical head warns amid rising cases

As the world is witnessing a massive surge in the cases owing to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, WHO COVID-19 technical head Maria Van Kerkhove on Tuesday warned that this new variant was not just a 'common cold'. Taking it to Twitter, Maria Van stated though the Omicron causes less serious illness than other forms of the virus, there were too many people being hospitalized and dying of the virus. She further added that through vaccine equity, infections could be prevented. Vaccine equity ensures that COVID-19 vaccines are distributed fairly to all populations, and are accessible to all in spite of people's socio economic status. 

'Omicron is NOT the common cold': Maria Van Kerkhove.

"Omicron is NOT the common cold. While some reports show a reduced risk of hospitalisation of Omicron compared to Delta, there are still far too many people infected, in hospital sick & dying from Omicron (& Delta). We can prevent infections, save lives now", she tweeted. 

WHO COVID technical head Pedicts 'Pandemic can End In 2022' 

Earlier In December 2021, Maria Van Kerkhove predicted that the pandemic will be eradicated globally by 2022. The spreading pandemic has engulfed the entire world, and everyone is suffering as a result. In November, as people were battling the Delta variant, a new COVID variant, Omicron emerged. During the WHO Q&A session, she said, "2022 is the year we can end the COVID-19 pandemic as we have tools now. We can take the death out of COVID-19."

According to a study published on Mckinsey, experts predict that COVID will be declared "non-pandemic" by 2022, owing to increased global vaccination rates and the introduction of antiviral COVID pills that could become more widely available next year. Instead, the virus will most certainly become "endemic", decreasing in severity and disappearing into the background of daily life. From the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 to the swine flu pandemic of 2009, several strains of influenza have followed a similar trend throughout the last century or so. COVID, like the flu, is likely to remain hazardous until the pandemic is over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.