Bill Gates worried over Omicron variant; 'World could be entering worst part of pandemic'

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates on Tuesday, December 21, said that the world could be entering the worst part of the pandemic due to COVID's Omicron variant. Gates, in a series of tweets, aimed to alert the public to the current COVID-19 variant spread and said that it was worrisome. Gates also informed that his close friends have begun testing positive for the virus and that he has since cancelled his holiday plans.

Bill Gates said that the Omicron spread was increasing faster than any other variant. Reiterating that this could be the “worst part of the pandemic”, Gates raised concern over the reinfection rate of the new variant of the coronavirus. "Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic," Gates tweeted on Tuesday. "Omicron will hit home for all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve cancelled most of my holiday plans," he added.

Bill Gates bats for COVID booster shots 

Continuing on his thread about the variant’s spread, he said that the Omicron could be the worst variant yet. “Omicron is spreading faster than any virus in history. It will soon be in every country in the world,” Gates said. “The big unknown is how sick omicron makes you. We need to take it seriously until we know more about it. Even if it’s only half as severe as delta, it will be the worst surge we have seen so far because it’s so infectious,” he wrote.

Furthermore, Gates said that the people must look after each other and take precautionary measures to stop the further spreading of the virus. He also pushed the public to take booster vaccines. “In the meantime, we all have to look out for each other, especially the most vulnerable, whether they live down the street or in another country. That means wearing masks, avoiding big indoor gatherings, and getting vaccinated. Getting a booster gives the best protection, Gates tweeted.

“There will be more breakthrough cases in people who are vx’d, which sounds concerning but is purely a factor of how many people are vx’d and how fast this variant is spreading. Vaccines are designed to prevent people from getting seriously ill or dying & are doing that well. If there’s good news here, it’s that omicron moves so quickly that once it becomes dominant in a country, the wave there should last less than 3 months. Those few months could be bad, but I still believe if we take the right steps, the pandemic can be over in 2022,” he wrote. The billionaire, who has invested heavily in the vaccination setup against the COVID-19 virus, said that the pandemic will end ‘someday’ and “the better we look after each other, the sooner that time will come”.

The Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 which was discovered late in November has now spread to more than 50 countries. Earlier the billionaire philanthropist had stated that the “acute phase of the pandemic will end in 2022.” His remarks were a part of a blog post wherein he also said that the world was better prepared to tackle the new variant as compared to the past. Meanwhile, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a news briefing last week said that a large number of mutations in the new coronavirus strain suggested that it could have a major impact on the course of the pandemic. 

Image: AP/ PIXABAY