WHERE: Tragic toll after the discovery of Omicron – 500,000 dead worldwide

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday denounced the fact that half a million deaths have been reported due to complications of COVID-19 following the detection of the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus, although vaccines are available, “more than tragic”.

“While everyone is saying that Omicron is more benign, the fact that half a million people have died since it was found is being sidelined,” said Abdi Mahamoud, WHO’s disease prevention and treatment officer.

“In an age of effective vaccination, half a million people have died, it’s really something (…). It’s more than tragic,” he said during a discussion on social networking sites organized by the WHO.

According to Mahamund, 130 million infections and 500,000 deaths have been reported worldwide since Omicron was described as a “variant of concern” in late November 2021.

This variant of SARS-CoV-2 has since quickly surpassed the Delta and has now become internationally dominant, as it is more contagious, even though it seems to cause milder disease.

The number of Omicron cases is “unbelievable”, “previous peaks are pale”, even considering that the numbers of infections and deaths are actually much higher than those officially announced, commented another WHO official, the Maria van Kerkov.

“We are still in the middle of this pandemic. I hope we are nearing the end of it,” but “several countries have not yet reached the peak of Omicron” and “this virus continues to be dangerous,” she warned.

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of at least 5.75 million people worldwide since it appeared in China in December 2019, according to the French Agency, based on official government reports.

Worldwide, more than 10 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

Source: AMPE