Omicron scare: G7 Health Ministers hold emergency meet on variant, call for urgent action

As cases of new COVID variant, Omicron, emerge, the international community has raised alarm over the situation. Amid growing concern over the new variant, the G7 health ministers held an emergency meeting on Monday, November 29, about the new Omicron COVID variant spreading across the world.

The meeting chaired by UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid discussed the development on the Omicron variant. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States are the members of G7.

Following the meeting, G7 leaders, in the joint statement, highlighted the need for 'urgent action' to tackle the new variant. The G7 leaders stated that the new variant is a highly transmissible variant of COVID-19. In the statement, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment towards the pledges in the G7 Carbis Bay Leaders Communique and G7 Health Ministers, Global Health Summit and the G20 Rome Declarations.

"The global community is faced, at a first evaluation, with the threat of a new, highly transmissible variant of COVID-19, which requires urgent action," G7 leaders said in the joint statement.

G7 leaders appreciate South Africa

In the joint statement issued by the G7 health ministers, the leaders lauded South Africa in both detecting the variant and alerting others to it. The ministers also acknowledged the importance of ensuring access to vaccines and country's readiness to receive and deploy COVID vaccines, providing operational assistance in completing donation commitments and tackling vaccine misinformation.

The leaders in the joint committee will continue working closely with WHO and are internationally committed to sharing information and monitor Omicron. Furthermore, the ministers have also decided to meet again in December.

Omicron variant

The World Health Organization (WHO) received the first report of the new variant from South Africa on November 24. On November 26, the international public health body has designated the variant, B.1.1.529, as a variant of concern, and named it Omicron, on the recommendation of the Technical Advisory Group On Virus Evolution (TAG-VE).

The new variant has been detected in countries like Australia, Canada, Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong, South Africa, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Israel, according to AP. The WHO noted that the variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. According to WHO, the data has showed an increased risk of reinfection with the new variant. 

Inputs from AP

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