Omicron spreading at an unprecedented rate: WHO

New Delhi: The World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday that the new variant Omicron was spreading at an unprecedented rate and was likely already present in most countries around the world.

"77 countries have now reported cases of Omicron, and the reality is that Omicron is probably in most countries, even if it hasn't been detected yet," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, adding that "Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant."

Tedros said vaccines alone will not protect against omicron. He called for countries to use masks, social distancing, proper ventilation and hand hygiene to prevent contagion.

He added that the WHO is worried that countries are dismissing Omicron as a mild variant. Though it is more contagious, it is not yet clear whether the variant causes more mild or severe disease than past strains of the virus.

"We have learned by now that we underestimate this virus at our peril," Tedros said. "Even if Omicron does cause less severe disease, the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems," he said.

Meanwhile, Delhi has reported four more cases of Omicron while eight more persons have tested positive for the variant in Maharashtra on Tuesday, taking the tally in the country to 61.

India logged 5,784 new Coronavirus infections, the lowest in 571 days, while the active cases declined to 88,993, the lowest in 563 days, according to the Union Health ministry data updated on Tuesday.

With the fresh cases, India's total tally of Covid cases climbed to 3,47,03,644. The death toll due to the viral disease has shot up to 4,75,888 with 252 more fatalities, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am.

The cumulative number of vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 134.53 crore on Tuesday, the ministry said. More than 62,17,862 vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm.

Union Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday that over 55 per cent of India's adult population has received both doses of the Covid vaccine.

According to Health ministry officials, 55.52 per cent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated with 87 per cent of people receiving the first dose of the vaccine.

Women accounted for 48.7 per cent of the beneficiaries who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the country till December 8, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on whether the number of women getting vaccinated against the Coronavirus in the country was low due to a lack of awareness, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said at the beginning of the nationwide Covid inoculation programme, pregnancy and lactation were contraindications for vaccination.

"As on December 8, 2021, 48.70 per cent of the total Covid vaccine doses were administered to women, which approximates to the estimated proportion of women in the country's population, which is 48 per cent," the minister added.

The Serum Institute of India (SII) plans to launch the Novavax Covid vaccine for children in the country in six months, its CEO said on Tuesday, adding global vaccine supplies were outstripping the absorption capacity of many countries.

The Novavax shot, which the world's largest producer of vaccines calls Covovax, has shown good results in trials in children aged three and older, Adar Poonawalla told a virtual conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

"Our vaccine will be launched in six months," he said. "It is under trial and has shown excellent data all the way down to the age group of 3."

The current vaccine production capacity of Covishield, manufactured by the SII, is approximately 250-275 million doses per month while it is about 50-60 million doses per month for Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Both companies have achieved close to 90 per cent of present production capacity, Pawar said in a written reply.

"Further, as communicated by Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad, the current monthly vaccine production capacity of Covaxin is approximately 50-60 million doses/month," she said.